The End Of The Beginning
by Nyx Muses
Summary: It started off as a quest to raise Rochelle from the dead, but became so, so much more. The Named struggle to find some semblance of peace but little do they know that their fight is far from over. Ethan-Rochelle, Isabel-Arkarian; Matt-Neriah, Dillon-OC
1. Prologue The Way We Are

**The End Of The Beginning**

Firstly I want to say that this story was written a long, long time ago, when I was absolutely and completely devastated by Rochelle's death.

(Raise your hands if you agree)

It started off as a one shot, but then a plot bunny snuck up on me and bit, and so, I shall continue.

Anyways I really, really hope people enjoy this!

Disclaimer : Guardians of Time is really not mine. I wish Ethan were but unfortunately he is not. So please don't sue me.

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Prologue – The Way We Are

_Ethan's POV_

I started deep into the lake, its water frothing and swirling in the evening breeze. The sun was setting, its blood red rays setting the glassy lake ablaze in golden sparkles. The sky above me was like a canvas, lit up in tropical reds and pinks and oranges and purples.

Three weeks ago I would never have noticed any of this. But I had changed. Things had changed. The beauty of Nature surrounded me. Too bad all I could thing about was another beauty – the beauty of a person who had made my life finally make sense for a whole two glorious moments.

Before being killed of course. Because things like that never last for me. That feeling of completion that had enswathed me with Rochelle in my arms had been so heady… so exhilarating. I should have known it was too good to be true.

I picked up a smooth rock and hurled it to the other side of the lake, pouring all my anger and frustration and sorrow and regret into it. With the combined force of physical and mental prowess, it soared high over the waters and landed somewhere on the other side of the lake.

It had been my fault. How could I have been so bloody stupid, not to have seen what was right in front of me. Not to have recognized what we shared from the moment I set my eyes on her. And even when deep inside I did, not to have acted on it and protected her from the ugliness of the world she was in. I should have been there for her, like sher very presence, unknowingly, was there for me. I should have shielded her from all the mistrust, from the accusations and the blind, stupid, bigoted hatred of the Guard, and made her feel wanted and loved, and God knows if I had maybe, just maybe, she'd still be here today.

With me.

The thought was almost too painful to bear. It gripped my heart with tantalising promise, only making her absence seem all the more painful and my life, all the more hollow and empty. For the billionth time in the last three weeks, I silently called out to her, begging her to come back to me.

I heard the dull thud of footsteps behind me, but I didn't turn around. I didn't want to. It had to be someone from the Guard, but I'm not ready to face them yet. I don't ever think I will be.

I felt Isabel move my rucksack from beside me and take its place, silent and warm. On the other side of me, Dillon sat down, throwing a nervous glance at me profile.

I felt tendrils of rage stir within me, and so I kept my gaze resolute on a spot in the lake. Dillon just pissed me off. Even though I know blaming him was petty and silly, and that Rochelle's death was not his fault, it made it easier for me to make someone else the scapegoat. Someone apart from me.

"Hey", said Isabel softly. I hadn't seen her in 3 weeks, ever since Rochelle died. Ever since I packed up my clothes, a tent and some money into my rucksack and left. To be alone for a bit, I had told her.

Apparently she defined "bit" as "three weeks one day and 18 hours".

I turned to her and nodded in stoic acknowledgement. She looked tired and stressed. Her sun kissed hair was rumpled in a haphazard ponytail, and she had smidgeons of dirt on her face. She looked older, so much more mature. It was in her eyes, those deep brown eyes. That zealous, almost reckless enthusiasm that usually lit it was now replaced with almost resignation. She had aged. But then again I think we all did.

And if that's what Rochelle's death had done to her, I can barely imagine what I look like.

"Ethan I…", started Dillon hesitantly, and I clenched my fists involuntarily.

He stopped, realising that a direct approach was really not going to sit well with my frayed nerves.

"This was her favourite spot", he started again, softly this time. "I remember she used to come here whenever she could and just sit and stare. I used to make so much fun of her, calling her a romantic sap."

I know its her favourite spot you dimwit. That's why I'm here.

"Ethan I know its my fault", he suddenly let out brokenly. "And I blame myself for it ever single day. And I'm so sorry. I know that you'll never really find it in you to forgive me. But I need you to know that I regret every word I said that day. And if I had the chance Ethan, I would have run off into that forest myself instead of Roh"

"Don't you dare talk about her like you care!" I spat at him, something inside me snapping. "She cared about you, you know! So much! I could see it even if you didn't. You were like a brother to her. Kin. She thought you two were the same. Both defected from the Order, both struggling to fit in, to make sense of a new world. And then you…"

My voice broke. But I still had much to say.

"She was the strongest of us. All her life she's been betrayed, by everyone she's ever trusted. What she had been through no one had and she still found it in her to be so good, so… pure. First it was her father, her only family, and you know what he did to her. And then Marduke, who she thought was looking out for her. And all he was doing was using her for his own gain. And still she found it in her to make the right choice at the right time. Even though she knew about the prophecy and what it would imply for her. And then…us. The Guard. The apparent good guys. We constantly belittled her, constantly accused her, and mistrusted her and…hurt her. Me included. Me especially. And still she fought for us, protected us, took unnecessary risks…almost drowned. She sacrificed herself for the Guard. She accepted Lorians.."gift", even though she knew it would just distance her from us. Make people mistrust her more. Make her a target. And that's just what happened. But still she fought, fought with everything she had in the final battle. She even uncovered the real traitor. And then you…"

My voice broke again, even though my eyes were dry. They had dried out a long time ago. Dillon just started at me, glimmering rivulets of tears down his cheeks, Beside me I could feel Isabel stiffen too, and she took my hand in hers.

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_Isabel's POV_

So much anger, so much of it.

It broke my heart to see what my best friend had become,

I took his hand softly in mine, wiping my eyes with my other hand. I couldn't feel his pain, no one ever could know what it felt like. Just the thought of living without Arkarian makes my blood run cold. I could shudder at what Ethan must be going through, But I had to tell him what I came here to do. I had to help him heal, help him recover, get him away from the vicious raging inferno of anger and frustration that was threatening to take over him.

"Ethan you know that's not completely true.", I said softly. "You know its barely Dillon's fault. That it would have happened anyways."

He sighed, and I felt tears well up again. He looked so defeated. So…withdrawn. So unlike what he used to be.

"I know", he said softly. "I know."

Still not looking at Dillon he continued, "Dillon I know you're not to blame. And this Is NOT an apology. I can never forgive you for what you said to her. But I know that I'm just about as much to blame as you are. And I don't think I can ever forgive me either."

He muttered the last bit under his breath but I heard him.

Oh God. I felt like hugging him so hard, and shielding him from all the sorrows of the world. And then chasing down the bastard who wrote the prophesy.

I decided that there was no opportune moment to tell him what I was here to say, so I simply dove in.

"Ethan you have to come back", I said softly. "We need you back"

"I'm not ready to come back", he snapped immediately and then his expression softened and he amended himself. "Isabel I don't think I would even be much use for the Guard. I'm…I'm a complete mess. I can barely think let alone fight or scavenge or whatever it is you want me to do. I need to just be alone right now. I need to clear my head. I need space"

I wasn't giving up so easy.

"Its been three weeks Ethan. You've been camping out here for three weeks and you have to come back now. We're all…we're all so worried for you. Shawn's a mess. Laura is breaking down all over again and the rest of us…"

He turned to say something but I silenced him,

"Look at what you've done to yourself", I said, my voice mirroring the tears ready to spill from my eyes. "You've changed so much. I know you need to heal Ethan, and this is the worst time for me to call you back but you need to know we're there for you. You need to be around people right now Eth, people who love you and care for you. So much has happened Ethan. We really need you."

He had changed. So much. His dark hair was long and messy, falling to shadow his eyes. He had lost weight; he looked rangier and…wilder and more muscular. His jaw line had become more defined, as had the hollows of his eyes. He had dark stubble on his chin, and his hands were grimy and calloused. His eyes, instead of the cheerful blue were a dark, dead sapphire, and were line a stone wall. Blank, hard, and utterly impregnable.

Those dark, cold eyes flickered as he caught on to something she said. Beside her Dillon swore softly under his breath,

"What do you mean so much has happened?", he asked stonily.

"Isabel…", said Dillon in a warning tone.

"I wasn't supposed to tell you because no one knew how you'd react.', said Isabel stubbornly. "But you need to come back. And if this is what brings you to us again, then so be it. After you…left, we started rooting out all the remaining members of the Order. They were scattered, defenceless and confused so it wasn't all that challenging. But we didn't realise that someone had survived the battle. Keziah, the wizard. I don't know how he did it, but he somehow rallied some of the remaining members of the Order and ambushed us. All the members of the Tribunal fell Ethan. He cast some dark, malovelent magic and aimed it right at the tribunal itself. Like some final show of spite. We captured him, got out the identities of the remaining members of the Order and he's on his deathbed, but Ethan we lost so many. Lord Penabrin is the last one left…and he's calling for all the Named one last time."

Ethan's face was like a storm cloud, and I felt his hands ball up in mine.

"How much more…", he whispered to no one in particular. "How many more deaths will we have to weather. When will it all be over .Finally over"

I tried to pacify him but he got up abruptly, and I got to see exactly how much he had changed. Picking up some scarps of paper lying by the river, he packed them into his bag, and tied up his rolled up tent to it too. Walking over towards the forest's edge, I noticed a tied pile of wooden logs. An axe that was glinting on the floor disappeared at his single glance, and his levitated the pile of logs away from the edge of the lake.

I cocked my eyebrow at him in curiosity.

"I found that physical exercise kept my mind off… things", he said in a clipped tone.

I closed my eyes for a brief second, enveloped in something that I had come to recognize.

Despair.

And so we made our way to Arkarian's chambers, in a comfortable, amiable and very out of character silence.

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THERE we go!

_Dedicated to - __Debbers __And Her Love For Bug Names_

PS – I love reviews!


	2. Fairytale Gone Bad

**CHAPTER 2**

Fairytale Gone Bad

Okay I know the story is really angsty as of now, but I promise it gets better :D And THANKS for the reviews! Okay this one is short, but I promise the next one gets a LOT longer!

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_Ethan's POV_

The first thing I noticed when I entered the room was how battle weary and dishevelled everyone looked. It was as though they'd spent the last three weeks without a wink of sleep.

Or a shower. Or even food for that matter. Bloodied clothes, bandaged wounded, gaunt faces... the war had taken its toll in ways unimaginable. And as I entered the room, the relief on everyone's faces was palpable. For some wierd reason, that made me feel awkward and guilty.

"Ethan!" gasped Dad as I entered in, taking a step towards me and pulling me into a hug. I hugged him back and for a moment, I smiled softly – the first time till that damned day three weeks ago. I felt comforted... and enveloped in the same sense of security and everything-is-going-to-be-alright that Dad's bear hug made me feel after Sera died.

I nodded at Matt, who smiled back, looking weary and worn out despite being an immortal. Neriah, who was leaning against his side, eyes watery, managed to give me a weak smile. Isabel stood solidly by my side as Arkarian came up to me hugged me, his blue hair unkempt and maroon eyes set off my purple bags under his eyes. Greeting Jimmy and a few others, I decided to get rigt to the point.

"Where is he?"

Matt answered, the evident leader. It was shocking how the guy who was so unsure of himself suddenly commanded attention in this quiet, unassuming way, slumped on a couch one arm thrown protectively around a sniffling Neriah. In every line of his forn, from the way he held his nexk up high to the way his eyes constantly surveyed the room, taking everything in, you just knew that he was someone who you could trust to lead us into an era of happiness.

"In the Inner Chamber", he said sadly. "He just started coughing up blood so I think he hasn't got much time left so. We should go"

Isabel looked pained, and I just knew she was blaming herself for not being able to heal him. Arkarian took her hand in his, and led us in.

Lord Penabrin lay on a huge white bed, looking so weak and emanciated despite his size that even I couldn't hold back a gasp. In the dying rays of the sun, his face was paper white, and his hands bony and shaking. And yet he managed to greet us with a cheery smile, blue eyes shrewdly surveying me.

"I'm so glad you're all here", he said throatily, and then burst into a fit of coughs. I heard Neriah take a sharp breath in and felt Dillon stiffen besides me.

"Now now", he said soothingly as tears started streaming down Neriah's face. "We knew our time was coming up the moment Lorian fell. It was only a matter of when we would fall too."

Another spasm of pain shook him, and Isabel rushed forward to try and relieve him. But even without being a Truthseer I could read the anguish in her mind, as nothing she did countered Keziah's dark magic.

"Don't have much time" gasped the Council member, his lips chalk gray. "You are our future, my children, and don't be afraid that we are no longer there. There is nothing that you can't do without us. And you have to do is believe that. We have shown you the path and it is up to you to follow it. And however sure you are of the Order's death, never doubt that at any point in time, the Dark could rise again. You are now the protectors of this delicate balance between Good and Evil, and I charge to to ever be loyal to that duty."

I saw Matt nod resolutely, drinking in Lord Penabrins last words. Lord Penabrin coughed loudly again, this time spewing out blood. Isabel looked ready to cry for the second time in an hour, something I would probably have laughed hystericaly at if told a month ago, as her healing powers failed her for the first time.

"And now I must speak to Isabel and Ethan alone", he said. Matt looked at him curiously, but decided not to question it, walking out of the room along with the rest.

Isabel tool Lord Penabrin's hand in hers, as I walked over to him.

His hands were stone cold, almost like marble but his face was burning up with a raging fever. Isabel shook her head at me. His time was, undoubtedly, upon him.

"You can only use it once", he spurted out suddenly,voice cracking, eyes wide and staring at Isabel. "We never told you…we never…you must use it, and you can have but one chance. Only once. Only once."

"What, what are you talking about", asked Isabel desperately, eyes darting to mine. "What can I use?"

Lord Penabrin started shuddering, tossing and turning, as spasm after spasm of pain shook his form.

"It was wrong…so wrong. Terrible! Yes…it must be remedied", he whispered vaguely, and I had to strain my ears just to hear him. "But its very tricky. Very delicate. Must be careful."

"He's babbling" I said softly. "He's delirious"

Isabel seemed to agree with me, as she actually did start crying. I couldn't blame her. Even I was choking back my emotion seeing this man, once to powerful and wise and great, reduced to such a painful, frail being. It was like watching an established order of things, a familiar world, melt away into something new and strange and unfamiliar. Everything that I once knew, once associated to the Order would be shattered after he died. It was devastating to even think about.

As he writhed and grew colder and colder, he took he final breathe, not before thrusting a yellowed piece of parchment into my hands. I was absolutely confused.

"Save Rochelle"

His voice choked on the last word, but what he said was unmistakable. Lord Penabrin, last of the Tribunal of the Guardians of Time, then fell limp, eyes shutting close.

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Cliffy!!

Well, in a sense of the word.

Anyways, this Chapter is dedicated to:

Oda

and her rainforests


	3. Only Hope

**CHAPTER 3 **

**Only Hope**

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**First a big shout out (along with a box of chocolates and and a selection of either Ethan. Arkarian or Matt, your choice) to all my reviewers. You guys are awesome! **

**I hope you guys like this chapter! :D**

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Matt's POV

"Save Rochelle?" I said, and I couldn't keep the tinge of cynicism from my voice. My eyes darted to Ethan. He hadn't said a word since Lord Penabrin's death. He looked as though a knife had been plunged into him and twisted over and over again. But there was hope in his face, in the grim line of his mouth and his clenched fists.

Immediately Neriah's thoughts flooded into my mind. "Watch it Matt" she warned in her soft, unassuming way.

I sighed. He used to be my best friend, and despite of our enmity the last few years I could see him disappearing. His sister's death had haunted him for years, but left him determined and tought, but Rochelle's death would haunt him all his life, and leave him broken. I immediately regretted my tone. Rochelle and Ethan were probably the two people on the planet who absolutely deserved every happiness they got in life… and then for such a thing to happen…

"He very clearly said that it was a terrible thing to have happened, and that it had to be remedied. And that it could be changed. And even if there is the slightest chance of bringing her back Matt, I am NOT letting it go!" said Ethan in a low, decisive voice.

"I understand Ethan." I truly did. I wanted Rochelle back as much as anyone else. Hell I would have jumped right into this mission myself right very now if given the chance. But I had to keep my head clear. It was, after all, my job to.

"But why is it that only you and Isabel have to go…", I added softly.

"BECAUSE Matt", burst out Isabel agitatedly. "I am the healer over here. You are NOT going over possessive big brother on me today. I NEED to do this Matt, not just for Ethan or Rochelle but for myself and the Guard."

I raised my eyebrow at her, knowing it would just piss her off further.

"Isabel it isn't just that", I added calmly. "Do you realise that if you save her…save Rochelle, Marduke won't turn to rock. He'll still be very much aline and very much dangerous and very much out there to put an end to Ethan. And do you really think its wise putting you two in such a position."

Isabel started to refute me again, probably go off on one of her I-am-perfectly-capable-of-defending-myself-you-loser rants, but I stopped her.

"All I'm asking of you guys is to think a little before just jumping back into time. At least take a couple of more Guard members with you. If Rochelle is saved Marduke HAS to be killed. If you're not able to do that you never know what will be changed in the future."

But this time it was Arkarian who interrupted me.

"Matt I think Lord Penabrin would have thought of all this before charging them to go…"save Rochelle". He himself said that this whole business was tricky. We have never in the history of the Guard had any mission to close back in time, let alone right in the presence of other Guard member and in Ethan's case, his old self. This needs to be handled absolutely carefully so I think we should let just the two of them go"

I knew I was fighting a losing battle. But as much as it just bothered me to send there out there, with Marduke just running around carrying arrows in the forest, I knew for Ethan's sake I had to.

Enveloping Isabel in a hug, I whispered, "I know I take the big brother job too seriously and all, but promise me you'll be careful… that you won't take any unnecessary risks…try and be the big, flaming hero."

I heard her laugh softly. Pulling away, she rolled her eyes in mock annoyance.

"Damn it Matt. You read my mind", she joked.

Moving over to Ethan I hugged him too, probably for the first time since the whole Rochelle-dating-me-to-manipulate-the-Guard fiasco.

"You better take good care of her", I warned him with a grin. He nodded, smiling quietly. "And you better bring Rochelle back too. You have to do everything possible, and this is an order, to bring her back Eth"

He smiled wider, but I didn't miss the tension in his eyes.

"Sorry to interrupt the whole brotherly reunion you guys...", said Dillon. "But what's in the yellow paper again."

"Coordinates and a time. It's exactly when Rochelle was shot, and the coordinates map out to…well…somewhere in the forest, a bit away from where she was hit", answered Neriah, entering something into one of the machines we salvaged from the Citadel.

I smiled at her and she nodded back. Behind me Dillon muttered "whipped" under his breath. I hurtled a pellet of ice at his head, ignoring his "HEY!" s.

Jimmy was acting as the coordinator of the mission, and Arkarian helped in put their new "system" into place. Ever since the falling of the Citadel, the two of them have been scrambling about trying to find a temporary way to bridge into time, at least till we can build somewhere more safe.

"Okay the two of, get ready now", I called out, and Isabel scowled as she pulled out of Arkarian's embrace. I swear I will NEVER get used to seeing the two of them together. Isabel will always be my annoying LITTLE sister and Arkarian, the blue haired, purple eyes, 600 year old wizard.

"How does this work again", asked Isabel nervously, as the revolving sphere stopped at the time we had plugged in.

"I think if you two just touch the sphere you'll be sent back", said Jimmy.

Slinging his arm around Isabel, a determined expression set upon his face, Ethan reached forward and touched the sphere, without hesitating the slightest.

In a swirly haze, the two of them disappeared.

"That was dramatic". Dillon pointed out, and I laughed.

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_Isabel's POV_

I fell in an ungraceful heap on a pile of twigs. Quickly jumping to my feet, I looked around. My entire system was on overdrive. I was very much aware now that it all depended on me, on how fast and how well I could heal Rochelle. I could feel butterflies in my stomach…hell…more like possessed pixies with sledgehammers. (_AN: I got this line from some other story so I take no credit for it :D) _

Ethan checked his watch. I could see him shudder slightly, as though bracing himself for what was to come. He knew we could only do this once, and of now, he would have to face the rest of his life without her.

"They should be here soon", he said shortly and then turned to me. His expression was desperate…almost pleading, even though he held his body rigid.

"You will be able to save her won't you Isabel?", he asked me in a small voice.

I didn't know what to say or do. I felt torn. One part of me wanted to be able to nod confidently and pull him into a hug, but I knew that wasn't true. Rochelle had died almost instantly; the arrow had embedded itself in her upper heart. Even if she was alive when I could tend to her, I wouldn't have the time to save her.

But there had to be something I could do, something I might not have realised before. I mean why else would Lord Penabrin have talked about something I could "use only one". I hoped this was true.

Before I could say anything to Ethan, we heard the sound of running footsteps hurtling towards us from the right.

"Isabel!" bellowed a very familiar voice. I ventured a glance at Ethan before me, whose jaw was set.

Ethan, well…the past Ethan ran into the forest, a slumped Rochelle in his arms. His eyes wore the lost expression of a person who had lost so much in so little time.

"Bring her here NOW", I snapped harshly, quickly pulling Rochelle onto the floor from his arms. With one swift movement I pulled the protruding arrow from her chest. Her back arched in pain and I quickly placed my hands over her heart. Already a crimson stain was blooming over her white shirt, spreading almost mesmerizingly across it.

The moment I touched her, I knew it was too late. The arrow had cleanly pierced her heart, and she was about a minute away from her death. I looked up at Ethan…both of them… one a shell of what he was and the other a step away from becoming the first. Frustration washed over me, and if I were Matt I would have incinerated all the trees around me. There HAD to be something I could do…Lord Penabrin must have meant for something to happen.

_You can only use it once. _His voice boomed in my head for the millionth time.

What did he mean? My healing powers? But that didn't make any sense.

I gritted my teeth and focused all my energy onto her heart. Images of torn blood vessels, a ripped atrium and dying muscle cells flitted through my head. Ever since my psychic powers revealed itself, I have somehow been able to bridge my two powers and actually see what I was healing, in my head. As blood pooled into her body cavities, I felt like screaming out loud. I was losing her.

I pushed myself further, pouring everything I could into mending her heart. And then suddenly something happened. Everything changed drastically. It was as though I had pushed myself into some alternate plane of healing.

Instead of the characteristic reds and crimsons and pinks that I would usually see, everything was a startling blue. Rochelle's heart was a soothing cerulean, her blood vessels pulsating in weak shades of sapphire. As I delved deeper into the torn walls of her heart, I saw nothing inside her heart chambers. In fact, her whole body was pulsing with a weak, dying blue aura. As more time passed, the weaker that azure aura seemed to get, as though life was physically being drained out of her.

I didn't know what to do, I was way out my depth.

I looked at my own hands, glowing a strong and powerful and rich blue.

And then something clicked, and I realised what was happening. At least I hoped I did. And I had a few split seconds to make a very big decision. Arkarian was the last thing on my mind, before I decided what I was going to do.

Concentrating hard and ignoring the weakness that was spreading through me, I started siphoning off some of my own queer blue light, into Rochelle. Soon her own "aura" started shining brighter, glowing stronger and stronger, as mine diminished slightly. In front of my eyes I could see her heart muscles knitting themselves back together, and within minutes, it was as though she had never been fatally injured.

Opening my eyes, I stood up, and immediately toppled over. Ethan-from- the- future -wow I felt wierd saying that- caught me before I embarrassed myself.

"Are you okay?" he asked nervously, his eyes darting to Rochelle's lone figure, slumped there on the forest floor, her shirt hideously stained.

"Of course I am", I scoffed.

"And… um…Rochelle?", he asked tentatively as though dreading the answer even as his eyes clouded over with hope,

I grinned widely. It was the only answer he needed. His face brightened, as though the rain clouds above him had been blown away and swept me into a monstrous hug.

"You are brilliant!", he beamed at me, and I laughed out loud. From the corner of my eye I saw the old Ethan slump to the ground in relief, a tear streaming down his cheek.

"Did you tell him about…well…everything", I asked him softly, gesturing at the past Ethan.

"I told him that we were from the future and that she was..y'no…dead there", he said, still grinning. "And I told him about how we got sent here. I gave him the piece of parchment too, so that him and…um…his Isabel could go back and save Rochelle all over again, and the cycle can continue."

I nodded, a stupid smile still on my face,

"Man it was weird talking to myself", he added with a chuckle and I laughed. The Ethan I knew and loved was resurfacing before my eyes.

Walking over to the OTHER Ethan, I knelt down before him.

"So she's safe", I started softly. "But she's unconscious. And I don't know how long she'll stay that way. You have to know however that…um…your Isabel can NOT try to heal her in any way until she does wake up."

He looked at me, puzzled. "Why?" he asked sombrely, still shaken by the scare of Rochelle dying.

"Its complicated", I said with a smile "And before the two of you go back into the past at the time and place mapped out on the paper, you have to tell Isabel that what she must do is beyond her definition of healing. And that she can only use it once."

"Use what once?" he questioned again.

"I don't think I can explain it even if I want to". I left it at that.

He looked at me quizzically before agreeing.

"Marduke isn't dead is he?", he suddenly commented. The Ethan from the future froze behind me.

I had almost forgotten about Marduke.

"We need to go find him", I said resolutely, remembering Matt's words. There was no way we could let him live. It would ruin EVERYTHING.

Just then we heard a twig snap. All three of us snapped our heads towards the direction and I instinctively flicked my knife out from my boot.

My eyes still trained onto that spot between two ferns, I heard one of the Ethan's shush us. Suddenly, the ferns were ripped apart – Ethan, one of them, probably animated them open- and I saw a figure hestily dematerialize into the air.

But not before all three of us caught a glimpse of a familiar, scarred face. I gasped.

Marduke.

* * *

**Yay! **

**Rochelle's back!**

**This Chapter is Dedicated to:**

**The year 2009 - May it suck a lot less than the last year**

**PS - I still love reviews! :D**


	4. My Mirage

**Chapter 4**

**My Mirage**

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**I just realised I forgot to wish everyone a**

***dun dun dun***

**HAPPY NEW YEAR!!**

**Have a spiffing oh-nine you guys, and drop in a review if you feel like it :D**

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_Ethan (of the future)'s POV_

Rochelle was alive.

She was breathing and I could see it. When I touched her cheek I could feel the warmth radiate out from her skin. When I held her hand I could feel her pulse. Beneath her shut eyelids her eyes flickered.

She was alive, in every way possible, and just the thought of it made me euphoric.

Somehow it felt too good to be true. One part of me wanted to whoop in joy and do the riverdance while another part of me felt almost scared and hesitant, reluctant to believe that this was happening to _me_, reluctant to leave her side in case I woke up to find out that this had been just a dream, a wonderful, magical, promising mirage.

I was so caught that I almost forgot about Marduke.

"Ethan we have to go get him", said Isabel decisively, her switchblade still in her hands, eyes surveying the thicket around us. The other Ethan was slowly circling the clearing, moving aside the ferns to find footprints or annoy trace of Marduke.

I forced myself to look away from…her.

"He very clearly dematerialized." I said in a matter of fact way. "There is no knowing where he went"

"He was here a while", the other Ethan suddenly muttered.

"What do you mean?"asked Isabel quickly.

"Footprints lead up to here almost directly from where he shot Rochelle" he said, showing us a trail of sodden prints on the muddy forest ground. "He was following me..."

My stomach clenched in apprehension. This was not good… Matt was going to internally combust… right after dismembering me of course.

I groaned.

"Does that mean he heard everything we said?", voiced Isabel, and I could hear the dread in her voice.

Shit. Shit shit shit shit _shit_.

"I would think so", replied the other Ethan, his face an impassive mask. I saw his eyes flicker to Rochelle protectively.

I got up and ran my hands through my hair. This was bad...this was _waay_ bad.

"Okay", I intervened, taking a huge breath. "Right... we need to go back as soon as possible Isabel"

She nodded quickly, and I could see the tension in her eyes. She walked over to Rochelle and checked up ion her one last time as I turned to talk to my mirror image.

"Ethan…um…yeah" I started. You won't believe how _wierd_ it felt just saying that! "Take her back and keep her safe. Now you know how things worked out in my future, but I have no idea whats going to happen in yours. Remember you can not tell _anyone_ what you know. Do not try and manipulate the future or warn Tribunal members or anything. This is very important. Things have to go as they proceeded, otherwise Rochelle might not make it."

I could see him start to protest before he looked at Rochelle and nodded again. Hesitantly.

"And despite what I said before, do NOT go back into time and save Rochelle. We don't know what's going to change in the future, or how things are going to work out, so just…stay put."

And with that sharp set of instructions, I squeezed Rochelle's hand one last time before swinging my arm around Isabel's shoulder.

"Arkarian", she called out clearly and I felt the familiar hazy giddiness associated to... you know... moving back and forth in time.

With one last look at Rochelle, everything went black.

* * *

_Arkarian's POV _

Isabel and Ethan landed softly with a thump, and I grinned widely, pulling Isabel into my arms.

"You saved her!", I muttered into her ear and she grinned against my neck.

Walking over to Ethan, who was grinning madly, I thumped him on his back and congratulated him as well. i knew jsut how much this must have meant to him...

"So what time is it?", asked Isabel, her face alit.

"The day after you two originally left. Isabel, you're mum is mad with worry. Jimmy had to tell her you were sleeping over at Neriahs."

"So whats been going on?", Ethan asked me suddenly. "I mean, okay this is confusing… in MY future, Rochelle was dead, as were all the Tribunal members. But since I told the other Ethan not to go back into the Future, there technically should be two Ethans and two Rochelles right now."

I paused. This was going to take a while to explain. I would rather have put it off for later, but I could see the questions and concern on both of their faces.

"Time works in strange ways Ethan, and it will take me decades to explain it all you. Remember how I told you that Time is measured as a circle over here, as opposed to being measured in a linear way. Well, your future had been an alternate future, something that you went back into time to change. So technically, you're right, right now there should be two Ethans and two Isabels. But that cannot be possible, it goes against all the laws of the Unvierse. You simply can't proceed in time on a permanant basis with another you. And so, the other Isabel and Ethan dematerialised a moment before the two of you came in."

"What?!" yelled Isabel. "You mean they…we…died!"

I chuckled and shook my head.

"God no don't be so morbid", I said lightly. "They just...made way to accommodate the two of you coming in. I've only seen it happen once before, to Lorian, and ever since he had been trying to find out what mechanisms actually cause something like this to happen. But if he found out anything, he never told me."

Isabel calmed down, but a frown still marred her forehead.

"So all the Tribunal members are dead right now. And we caught Keziah?", she said slowly.

I nodded and her look of confusion intensified.

"What day did you catch Keziah?", she demanded suddenly.

"Last Sunday…" I replied calmly although my mind was whirring with questions. Something was most _definitely_ wrong. "Why? Whats going on?"

But she was looking at Ethan in disbelief.

"Nothing changed." She said softly, her eyes wide. "How is that possible?! It's as though he never existed"

Ethan looked just as confused, and raked his han through his dark hair for the millionth time. I could see him fidget a bit, and resisted grinning.

I needed to teach him how to control his thoughts _all over again_ sometime soon. The boy was and open book.

"What do you mean Isabel?", I asked, moving my attention back to her statements, a tad bit worried now.

"Call for everyone right now", she said curtly. "Theres...a lot we need to explain."

Ethan fshuffled slightly again, nodding vaguely, and I smiled inwardly.

"Okay...right.", he said. "Umm...Can we save please this for later Isabel? Arkarian…where is she? Where's Rochelle? I need to see her right now."

I grinned knowingly, my arm still around Isabel's waist. It had taken him long enough. Ethan couldn't mask his thoughts to save his life, and the only thing that had been on his mind was Rochelle.

"She's at Isabel's house. She's still unconscious", I said and then looked at Isabel. "You said that was expected right?"

But Isabel shook her head, a look of dread passing over her face.

"Not for this long", she breathed. "I need to go."

I watched Ethan visibly pale, shutting his eyes for a moment before they opened up afain, full of resolve.

I shook my head softly. This was not good...

_Ethan's POV_

I started running as fasst as I could through the woods, towards Isabel's house. She was right beside me, matching my every step. At times like this I truly appreciated her friendship. We didn't say anything to each other the whole way through, and we didn't need to. She knew I was sick with fear and dread and worry and she knew that nothing she would say would alleviate it.

And so she didn't.

When we reached her place, we were panting and flushed. Luckily, no one was home. I bounded up her stairs and into her room, opening the door with a bang, my heard thudding a tattoo against my chest.

And there she lay, on the freshly made bed, looking in every possible way healthy and alive expect for the fact that she just _wouldn't..._she just _couldn't_ wake up. I slumped down on a chair beside her and looked at her, simply looked at her, head in my hands.

Her face was flushed, black hair contrasting sharply with her tanned skin. Deep in comatose, she was visibly relaxed, and she looked so much at peace, something I had never before seen in her. I pushed back a lock of hair from her cheek, and caught her hand in mine. It felt so tiny in comparison, and I almost missed seeing the familiar purple sparks crackling around it. From the flannel shirt she had on, Isabel's I presumed, I could see a pale white scar disappearing into her shirt, right above her heart.

My jaw clenched and I had the sudden, violent desire to murder Marduke with my bare hands.

I heard Isabel walk in, a glass of water in her hands.

"Why won't she wake up?", I asked her miserably, my back to her and my eyes trained on Rochelle.

"Its… complicated.", she reiterated tiredly for the second time that day, placing her hands on Rochelle's hand and closing her eyes.

"Isabel tell me something", I persisted, a bit angry now.

She let go of Rochelle's hand, and even I couldn't miss the slight frown on her brow.

"Ethan I WANT to tell you", she replied equally harshly. "But I need to talk about what happened with Arkarian around. Its just something I have to do okay! If you knew... trust me you might get a big annoyed. So don't bugger me about it, I promise I'll tell you as soon as I've told everyone, especially Arkarian."

I clenched my jaw, my eyes still on Rochelle's hand in mine. I heard her sigh audibly.

"Imagine a blood transfusion okay!", she said, her voice tinged with resent. "Sure she's healed because of my, donation, of sorts, but unless her body accepts it, she won't wake up. I don't know why she hasn't yet accepted it. Maybe she's not fighting hard enough. I don't know."

"Isabel how much blood did you give her?", I asked her honestly. "She was bleeding dry! Are you okay? You could have killed yourself!"

"That is exactly why I didn't want to say anything", she mumbled and I took the hint. "And it wasn't a blood transfustion...that was a bloody analogy!"

"Thank you", I said softly. "You don't know how much it means to me. I just...wouldn't have been able to stand it if you hurt yourself in the process."

She patted my back softly.

"Will she ever wake up?", I asked quietly, looking at Rochelle. I needed to know. I HAD to know. Because if this was a losing battle, then I would have to be prepared.

Isabel gulped.

"I'd give her two days at most. If you doesn't wake up by then, chances are she never will"

I nodded miserably, emotion welling within me.

No… not again. I couldn't lose her _all over again_. Things had just started looking brighter. I started feeling sickat the very thought, My stomach lurched and my head hurt like someone had dropped a hammer on it. I steeled myself. This was NOT the time to break down.

"No", I whispered determined. "She _will_ wake up."

I was not letting go of her so easily now. I _could_ not let go that easily. I had made that mistake before and I won't make it again. I grasped her hand even tighter.

Hear that Rochelle? I'm not letting go of you. You NEED to come back, and hell you will.

"Ethan we have to go now", Isabel said. "We need to tell everyone about Marduke and … well … everything."

"I'm not coming". I said resolutely, caressing Rochelle's hand. "I need to stay here Isabel. Please?"

There was a pause, and I looked up at Isabel. She nodded, meeting my gaze head on.

"Isabel why are your eyes purple?!"

_Later That Day_

_Isabel's POV_

I walked into Arkarian's quarters alone, dreading the questions that I would have to answer there. I considered putting on a pair of shades before I could explain exactly what happened, but figured it wouldn't work considering the fact that it was nightfall.

Oh damn.

Entering Arkarian's Chambers, I smiled at everyone, trying to ... squint as much as possible while doing so.

Apart from feeling very stupid, it very evidently did not work.

I was greeted by shocked stares. And by shocked I mean open-mouthed, popping-eyed gobsmacked-ness.

Honestly my eyes had just changed a couple of shades! It wasn't as though I had sprouted wings and matching horns and had strolled in doing the cancan.

"What the HELL?!" bellowed Matt suddenly, eyes spitting fire.

I opened my mouth to speak but Neriah cut me off.

"Umm Isabel", said Neriah, placing her hand on Matt's shoulder. "You're eyes…they're, well…they're purple."

Oh God. Here it goes...

I raised my hands before me to calm everyone down.

"Look you guys I can explain", I said confidently, hoping that everyone would STOP staring at me like I was a freak.

They didn't.

"How is this possible?!", said Arkarian, his voice a mixture of awe and worry. "My eyes only became purple when I was…say…70 or 80 years old…give or take a decade"

I didn't say a word. I didn't know what to say.

"Okay I'm getting worried now", said Neriah, crossing her arms. "Isabel you need to say something. Are you sick or something?"

"Can I just start from the beginning", I asked them nervously.

"Where else would you intend to start?" asked Dillon.

Matt gave him a pointed look and Dillon rolled his eyes.

"Okay", I started nervously, well aware that I was sounding like a retard. "Obviously everyone here would want to know what happened when Ethan and I went to save Rochelle, so here it is."

"Actually we're more interested in knowing why your eyes-", started Matt rudely, but he was interrupted by a sharp jab in the ribs by Neriah who glared at him.

I need to thank Neriah a _lot_. The whole Matt being head over heels in love with her had worked so well to my advantage...

Anyways...

"So almost as soon as Ethan and I landed, the Ethan from the past came running carrying Rochelle. She was, as we predicted, shot and bleeding her heart out, literally. So I immediately started on healing her…"

"Wait I thought she was injured to the point of no return.", interrupted Dillon. "I thought there was no saving her. The arrow killed her almost instantly."

"You're right" I said calmly. "She was as good as dead when I got to her."

I paused.

"But I still tried to heal her" I said. "I was desperate to. I knew there _had_ to be something I could do, otherwise Lord Penabrin wouldn't have risked sending me to the past. Besides I was desperate. I knew if she didn't survive this, neither would Ethan. And then I remembered something that Lord Penabrin had said"

" 'You can only use it once' ", quoted Arkarian softly, nodding his head in realisation. "I was wondering what he meant."

"Exactly. I didn't know what he was talking about, so I simply pushed on, putting everything I had into mending, _trying_ to mend her heart. It was a lost cause though. Till... _something_ wierd...something different...just happened", I stopped again. I didn't quite know how to say what I had to.

"Normally, when I heal wounds, I do it on this physical level. Broken bones, torn muscles, charred flash, this is all a very corporeal, literal dimension of healing. But apparently there is more to it. I somehow pushed myself onto a completely different level of healing, one that had nothing to do with blood or cells or bones."

"What? I mean…how?" asked Neriah, frowning slightly.

"For starters everything I could see in her body was blue", I said vaguely. "What determined life or death on this... level of sorts... was some form of bright blue energy thing. It was as though that blue stuff was liquid life. From every wound Rochelle had, that blue energy was being drained out, from the scratch on her cheek to the hole in her heart. SHe was just losing her life force of sorts. And so she was dying. Her life was very literally leaving her."

I took a deep breath efore continuing. Everyone was listening in rapt attention.

"I figured that you were born with a fixed amount of this life force…thing. And everytime you hurt yourself you lose a bit of it, and your death draws that much closer to you. So the answer to healing Rochelle, was replenishing her life force."

Matt drew in a deep breath.

"It isn't as wasy as it sounds though. But I couldn't just... _create_ it. That's when I realised…that if I wanted to save her, I would simply have to give her some of my own life force. Sort of loan her some of my time."

That's when all of hell broke loose.

"ISABEL BECKET PLEASE TELL ME RIGHT THIS INSTANT…", Matt started and I shushed him down.

"Matt you are going to LISTEN to me before starting to YELL at me", I threatened,

Even Arkarian had paled visibly. I saw his hands shaking slightly.

"I wasn't going to do anything stupid of course", I started again.

Matt scoffed, muttering something under his breath along the lines of "big-fat-flaming-hero-complex". I ignored him.

"Guys its Rochelle. For starters its the LEAST she deserves. But it was when I thought about you Arkarian that I made my mind up.", I said clearly, looking at him straight in the eye.

"Thinking of me made you decide to render yourself dying" said Arkarian drily.

"I'm not dying you guys", I scoffed. "Don't you see. Arkarian is 600 years old. He is at least 580 years older than me. Arkarian and I already decided that living without each other was something we'd rather die than put up with. I gave Rochelle about 70 years of my life, which still makes Arkarian more than 500 years older than me. It was an inconsequential price to pay for Rochelle's life."

The room was bathed in that same shocked silence. And then Arkarian walked up to me and eveloped me in a huge hug, lifting me off my feet.

I buried my head in him shoulder and he whispered to me, "You have no idea how much I love you"

I blushed. And I don't blush. Ever.

"I'm proud of you Isabel", said Matt with a huge grin, walking up to me. "But in exactly 60 seconds I'm going to pretend I never said that and go back to annoying the hell out of you."

I laughed out loud, winking at him from over Arkarian's shoulder.

"Oh wait there's more.", I suddenly remembered. Pulling out of Arkarian's embrace, I brushed the hair out of my face nervously.

"Marduke survived.", I said nervously and Matt's face immediately clouded over.

"What?" he said in a calm, dangerous voice.

"He heard everything Ethan said about the mission and about how the future was when Rochelle was dead and before we could catch him, he used his wings and just dematerialized. We didn;t even know he was there...we were all so preoccupied with...with healing Rochelle!"

I couldn't see the panic in people's eye. Matt was the only one who faced me back with calm resignation.

"Oh my God", sighed Neriah. "It starts all over again now."

"But the weird thing is", I continued. "Not a thing in this future changed apart from the fact that Rochelle is breathing. I mean you'd think he would prevent Keziah's capture or… warn The Order about those few times we ambushed them, but he didn't. And you guys didn't even realise he was alive. It just doesn't make sense."

"It doesn't make any sense", agreed Arkarian. "Unless he's planning something. He's probably waiting for us to get comfortable...feel safe...slip up maybe. I don't know. I need to think about this."

"We'll leave this for tomorrow", said Matt decisively. "It getting late, we should be going."

Everyone trickled out in ones and twos. Dillon was the last to leave.

"Isabel", he started seriously, his green eyes somber, "I want to…personally thank you for saving Rochelle. You gave your life for her and you have no idea how grateful I am. Honestly I owe you."

"God you make me sound dead Dillon", I laughed.

With a smile, he too left.

Turning around, I literally jumped into Arkarian's arms. Chucking, he hugged me right back.

"I've missed you", I said simply, and he smiled warmly.

"Looks like we have something in common then", he said softly, a long finger circling my right eye. I grinned.

"You know I quite like it", I answered, moving an inch closer to him, our noses nearly touching now.

"Do you now?", he asked me playfully, placing a chaste kiss on my nose.

"It completely clashes with my hair, and I can NEVER wear my green dress again...", I continued lightly, still smiling. "But-"

I couldn't finish that sentence because his lips had claimed mine in a powerful kiss. I melted into his arms, and my knees literally turned to jelly, as my eyes fluttered shut, my hands twining into his soft blue hair. His hands were around my waist, pulling my flush against him. I'd probably have fallen if he weren't holding me that securely.

And I felt utterly at home. Like I never wanted to let go.

In my opinion he pulled away way too soon. Both of us were breathing heavily, and I found myself backed up against a wall. His hair was tousled slightly, thanks to me, and I smiled at how messy it looked.

"I wish I could kidnap you from your silly little mortal world", he said softly, his breath mingling with mine. "But I'm afraid you need to get yourself home now. Besides, I don't want Matt to kill me in my sleep."

I laughed.

"See you tomorrow!" I said, kissing him quickly on his lips.

___________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________

**So what do you think?**

**Way too little Ethan-Rochelle for my liking, but I wanted an**

**entire chapter for just the two of them!**

**School starts the day tomorrow and (as usual) I am absolutely behind work. **

**IB is a bitch.**

**So I ****might not have time to upload another chapter for a bit…**

**But keep the reviews coming guys! :D **

**Love - Nyx Muses**

**Dedicated To – The Czech Republic, because we'll always have those 2 weeks.**


	5. Beating the Black

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Chapter 5

**Home Is Where the Heart Is**

This chapter was originally in Ethan's POV, but I got really bored

of writing Ethan, even though he's totally my GOT lover.

Anyhoo...

I tried something a little different, and I hope you guys like it :D

Thank You sooo very much for the absolutely

awesome reviews.

Constructive Criticism is always appreciated, and in very many cases, required!

* * *

_Rochelle's POV_

_I could feel the arrow in my chest, glinting sunlight onto my chest, but it was odd that I didn't register any pain. I could feel was a swirling synergy of shock and relief. It was as though that had over ridden my natural urge to scream in agony._

_Shock that the blood staining my shirt was my own and that my time had, when I least expected it, snuck up on me._

_Relief, that Ethan was safe. Because, although dying was not really on my to-do list, dying for the man I love would probably be the most ideal way to die._

_It's odd what people think when they're about to lose everything._

_And then suddenly my body shook, almost falling out of Ethan's arms as reality crashed down upon me._

_My vision blurred, and I started feeling spasm after spasm of raw, gut-wrenching, agonizing pain, all radiating out from that arrow in my chest._

_Immobilizing me. Hurting me. Killing me._

_And then everything went black._

_Blinding pain, searing and hot. Ripping through me. A thousand million knives gouging at my chest. Tearing into me._

_A pair of hands on my wound._

_I wanted to scream out loud but I couldn't. My body wouldn't respond. My entire being had been reduced to that hole on my chest, and to the torment that spread from it._

_And then everything went black._

* * *

_Weakness, incapacitating me, overriding the pain. Combating it. Distracting me. The feeling of slowly slipping away into a never-ending emptiness. Reduced to being simply a voice in my own head, a voice so close to being quenched._

_The pair of hands on my wound was holding me down, my anchor to reality, my anchor to pain, my anchor to life._

_And then everything went black._

* * *

_Warmth. Liquid heat surging into the recesses of my empty, broken body, making my every nerve ending scream._

_The pain intensified triple fold, wrenching scream after scream from me. Except I couldn't scream. I couldn't move. I could only succumb to the excruciating torture my body was going through. Just flow with it and endure. A tiny rock in a whirlpool, weathering away chink by chink._

_And then everything went blue, a numbing, giddying, brightly lit blue, covering me and shielding me and holding me down. Healing me._

_And then everything went black._

_I was so tempted to just let go. Succumb into the writhing haze of azure light. I felt beaten and exhausted._

_Oh so exhausted._

_My limbs refused to respond to me, but I simply didn't care. I wanted to sleep. To let this last living light in me blink out. Embrace the constraints of that lovely, lovely blue,_

_To just let go._

_Something warm enveloped my numb hand, holding me, caressing me._

_And then everything went black._

* * *

"Rochelle you are one of the most stubborn, pig headed, determined people I know and you are NOT letting go you hear me! I want you back, hell, I need you back and I'll be damned if I lose you now. Not after so much. Not again"

_A familiar voice. Low and rumbling. It kept on oscillating between sounding far-off and oh-so-close._

_And then I realised it was me, slipping in and out of a delirium. A restricting blue delirium._

_And then everything went black._

* * *

"I remember when I first saw you. You were walking down the hallway towards Mr. Carter's class, with the supervisor. I think I froze on the spot. You were wearing a green dress. I remember, because I was thinking about how it brought out your eyes. Roh I don't think I ever told you that I think you have the most gorgeous eyes in the world."

* * *

"You know, when they first told me that you were…like us…with powers and everything. I was elated. For one moment, I thought that we could be together, because this was something we had in common. That you and I had in common, not Matt. Matt didn't have any abilities then. And the next moment I felt terrible for even thinking such a thing. I tried to remember all over again that I hated you. But I couldn't tell myself that. You know what Roh, I don't think I ever did hate you."

* * *

"I'm so sorry I never told you how I really felt about you Roh. I'm so sorry I put you through all that… all of that trauma after you made the right choice. I admired you so much, I had fallen even more in love with you for your bravery, and unwavering determination, but I didn't want to admit it to myself. I should have. I should have stood up for you more, yelled at everyone who decided to take a go at you. Not just have been a pathetic, small-minded coward. I don't know if you'll ever forgive me."

* * *

"Hon do me a favour? If you see a white light. Please don't go anywhere near it. In fact just start running in the opposite direction."

* * *

"I love you Rochelle Thallimar. Always have, always will. Even if you wake up from this, which you will mind you, hating my guts for being such a bastard and for not even being able to protect you, I am going to continue loving you. You can lead your own life, do whatever you want, but I'll always be there for you, waiting on the sidelines."

* * *

_The pain was gone, but the haze was still there, choking me now, suffocating me, holding me down, telling me to just succumb to it and forget about everything. And I wanted to…to just let go and lose what little control I had._

_But then that voice again…resounding in my head, echoing over and over again. A warm, deep, familiar voice that brought with it a sharp clarity._

_I wanted to fight, to break through the blue miasma, to come free. I wanted to get to that voice, to that familiar place._

_I reached out, pushing through, pushing with with all my might. Clawing through towards the voice._

"Ethan!"

* * *

Yes I know I promised a nice, long, fluffy Ethan Rochelle,

but I', absolutely drained these days and wanted to put up as much as I could.

Buuut I shall be updating what was the rest of this chapter pretty soon!

Review dearies!

_

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_

Dedicated To:

_-Gaza-_

_And all those poor people who lost their lives, loved ones and more._


	6. And So We Beat On

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AND SO WE BEAT ON

Bonjour! Yes I know I'm realllly late with this update, but if it makes you feel better,

I had seven hours worth of continuous exams on the same day.

Yes, my school loves me that way...

Anyyhoo, have fun!

* * *

_Ethan's POV_

I was itching to go back up to Rochelle, but it was past midnight and Isabel had _ordered_ me in no uncertain terms to go and eat something.

That stubborn little chit.

I started munching on the cookies her mum had left out of me, chewing as fast as humanly possible, and taking the time to ruminate about, well, Rochelle.

Just seeing her just lying there, normally so vibrant and commanding, made me feel miserable. But I refused to give up. Hell she was breathing! There was no way I had come this far to walk away because she was _asleep_.

So I had started talking to her. It had started off as just a quiet plea for her to fight whatever it was that she had to fight to get out of her catatonic state, but then… I don't know why… the words just started flowing out.

I spoke about everything I had always wanted to tell her, but couldn't. How I knew we had _something_ between us the moment I saw her. About the utter sense of hopeless rage that I felt when she chose Matt over me. About how, even 18 months after she picked Matt over me, I couldn't keep my eyes off her when she crossed me in hallways. How I loved the way she still blushed over everything, and how when I least expected it, she would let down her guard and do something so emotional and so beautiful, like dance in abandon or cry in joy, that I would stimply be left stunned. How I hated myself for treating her like a traitor, like an outsider, like someone I knew she was not. About how it had taken every ounce of strength in me to not kill Marduke. I talked about the past, present and future. Our future. That future Marduke had tried to rob from us.

It felt so liberating, to just let everything go. I knew she was in a comatose, and that there was a very bright chance that she could not hear me, but I had to let her know that I was right there, waiting for her to wake up. Begging of her to wake up. And that I would always be there.

I sighed softly. Nothing I had ever encountered in my life had ever come close to being as hard as _watching_ Rochelle die. Nothing.

And then suddenly my gut wrenched, as though my innards were being squeezed through a straw. The world spun in wretched circles and my vision blurred. For a moment I felt dazed and lost.

"Ethan"

It was a whisper, an echo, but I heard it as clearly as my own voice.

The plate of cookies shattered on the floor. Rochelle had come back. I just knew it.

Literally blasting through the kitchen door and destroying Isabel's stairs, I made my way up to her room, yanking her door open.

And there she was, sitting up straight on the bed, looking shocked and confused and ...trancelike. Her dark hair was streaming down her shoulders, her golden skin gleamed in the moonlight, and her eyes, big and bright, the most startling emerald colour I've ever seen, were wide open in confusion.

Looking at me, she made a soft, strangled sound between a gasp and a sob, attempting to raise her hands and I covered the distance between us and quite literally swept her into my arms.

A very big part of me simply didn't believe this was happening to me. The cynic in me, born from 3 weeks of absolute torture, insisted that this was just another manifestation of my deluded, deprived psyche.

But it was real. I could feel in it my bones. I could feel it in the way Rochelle shook in my arms, the way her face was buried in my shoulders, the way she sighed softly into my shirt, the way she fit so perfectly into me, like some missing piece of a puzzle reunited with its kin. There was no way I could imagine such peace, and such complete relief. And for a moment, that shook me to my very core.

"Thank heavens you're back", I whispered brokenly, at a loss for words. "Thank heavens you're back"

It took me a minute to move from that position. The relief was so blinding, so consuming that had an earthquake had hit Angel Falls, I doubt I'd have been able to do anything but simply hold her tighter.

Pulling out of the embrace slightly, I looked into her face. A small smile graced her lips, even as her brow was furrowed in confusion. Obviously she was groggy and probably wouldn't even remember this, but the point was_, she was okay_!

"I think I'm going to…" she whispered weakly, eyes widening, before collapsing in my arms.

Although I was convinced she had just fainted, but I refused to take a chance, and called Isabel immediately.

Sleepy, disgruntled and thoroughly pissed off, she had started chucking things at me (her alarm clock, her water bottle, a book) the moment I had attempted to wake her up. But eventually she did, and when I told her about Rochelle, her face literally lit up.

"She just tired", she said after a moment of examining Rochelle. "But she's going to be fine."

I grinned, and raked my hands through my hair.

_She was going to be just fine!_

Of course that was when Isabel went into Mother-Hen mode.

"BUT she's going to be out for another couple of hours", she started in a very familiar tone. "So you have to go to bed. And I mean your bed. In your house. Which you haven't seen in three weeks. Besides you're going to have to be digging around the Citadel ruins tomorrow."

I simply smiled at her and refused to move. She was being absolutely unreasonable.

"Ethan you haven't slept in three days!", said Isabel exasperatedly, narrowing her eyes just daring, daring me to protest.

I crossed my arms. She sighed noisily.

"You hair is a MESS. You look like you've just spent a month in the Underworld. You've got these ugly little purple bags under your eyes and a scraggly stubble _thing_ and even if you _had_ saved my life by defying all odds and going into the past to make sure a little golden arrow could be removed in time, I wouldn't even _consider_ going out with you", she said, with a triumphant smile.

Damn.

Glaring at her, I stalked off.

* * *

_Rochelle POV_

They said death was painless. Not the process of dying of course, but the aftermath.

They lied. Through they're filthy teeth.

Just opening my eyes was like trying to benchpress a wren. With my eyelids.

"I know you're awake you know!", said a chirpy voice.

I groaned audibly. Squinting, I was greeted by a beaming Isabel, who was sitting on a chair reading a book.

I believe I started panicking. I very distinctly remembered getting pierced by Marduke's arrow and well, dying. But if Isabel was here as well , wherever "here" was, then… she had to logically be dead too.

Thus the panic.

"Wait you're….you're here?!You're dead! But that isn't possible!" I said asked alarmed, sitting up.

Isabel frowned slightly, and then gestured vaguely.

"Does my room really look like the Afterworld?" she asked conversationally, flipping a page of her book.

"Huh?"

_Her room_? What the hell was her _room_ doing in the Afterworld?!

"You're alive Rochelle", said Isabel softly. "We brought you back."

My hand unknowingly flew to my mouth. That was impossible. It had to be some sort of cruel joke. I distinctly remember hearing the whoosh of the arrow, watching its golden glint refllect the tears on Ethan's face. Besides, you can't just _un-die_ someone. My heartbeat raced nonetheless. It was too much to hope for.

"What happened? I mean…how?" I asked incoherently, painfully aware that I sounded slightly addled. I took a deep breath. "I remember…I remember dying"

Isabel's face clouded over for a brief second.

"You did die." she said hesitantly and then sensing my frustration quickly added. "Look I don't think I should be the one telling you how you're alive and what happened so please don't ask me. Ethan needs to be the one doing that."

Ethan.

The name made my heart twist and flop over. It suddenly came back to me, our last few moments, that feeling of belonging, of incomparable completion… of being wanted and being loved. Things started coming back to me… snippets of my own thoughts… echoing words in a familiar voice…

"Where is he?" I asked.

"He was here half the night, but then I made to go home and get some rest. Right now though I think he's at the Citadel. Well, whatever's left of it." She said with an impish grin. "Neriah's making all of them work their arms off clearing up the Citadel. It's very funny actually."

I smiled slightly and then made to get up. I did get onto my feet, but then collapsed almost completely right back onto the bed.

I blushed furiously. This was beyond embarrassing. I don't just…_collapse_.

"Yeah you need to watch out", said Isabel, helping me up. "Take it easy… like you'll listen to that… but TRY. Mum's making lunch so just shower and come down"

I started taking tiny steps towards the bathroom door, muscles aching and groaning from lack of use. A shot of pain seared through me, originating from my chest and making m e all but double over in pain. Looking down, I saw a pale white scar right disappearing into my shirt, right above my heart. I traced it curiously.

"I think it's going to be permanent", said Isabel apologetically, looking considerably upset. "I'm...well... I'm sorry."

Oh well. I had a souvenir now.

I smiled, trying to show her that I really didn't care for a pearly little scar, considering how I was _not_ six feet under. I looked up at her.

"Isabel I have a feeling that you're one of the main reasons I'm not…dead", I started off, and she smiled. "So whatever it is you did, thanks so much. You have no idea what it means to me. None at all."

She pulled me into a hug.

"No _you_ have no idea what it means to us. To Ethan especially. That you're back and alive." she said, before leaving.

Taking a quick shower, I wore one of Isabel's jumpers because my own was bloodied and torn. It was slightly long on me and I even managed to singe its hem slightly. My hands were out of control. sparks burning my skin. Slipping into my own black pants and combat boots, I made my way downstairs.

"Rochelle its great seeing you up!", greeted Isabel's mum warmly, hugging me. I was suddenly reminded of my own mum, my real mother not my step mum, and a lump found its way into my throat. I steeled myself. That boat had sailed a long time back and I wasn't going to wallow about it.

Jimmy walked over, hugging me and winking. "Good to have you back love", he said with unimginable emotion, and I didn't miss the puzzled expression on her mum's face.

Piling some food onto my plate, I looked tentatively at Isabel. Lucky for me, she understood.

"Oh Mum knows about the Guard now", she said quickly, smiling over at her mum. "We had to tell her once you came back. And once my eyes turned lilac."

I had noticed that. But I didn't really know what to say. I mean how does one break it to someone that their eyes had turned _purple_?!

_And_ sound polite.

I smiled knowingly at her mum and very nearly yelped when Isabel literally started bombarding her thoughts out to me.

"_No she does NOT know about everything. DON'T talk to her about Matt's true parentage, or his immortality, or the extent of his abilities! And DON'T talk about Jimmy. OR the fact that I'm seeing Arkarian. In fact, just don't mention anything at all. All she knows is that a couple of us have abilities and go back into time now and then to save the world."_

I grinned. In the last 20 minutes I had found out more about Isabel than in all the time I'd known her. I sort of liked it. It made me feel like I was family, a thought which both terrified and gladdened me.

As we finished, I walked over to Isabel not really knowing what to say.

She guessed from my expression.

"They're five minutes from Arkarian's chambers. You'll see the trail", she said with this knowing smile. "Best of Luck"

Best of luck indeed.

o0o

So it turns out, I'm a LOT more tired than I thought I was. The walk to Arkarian's ordinarily would taken me half an hour tops.

An hour and three breaks later, I still wasn't there!

I could have pulled my hair in frustration. The sparks on my hands fizzled almost violently, alternating between purple currents zipping on my skin, and violet sparks bursting from my fingertips, almost setting a tree on fire.

I groaned and trudged on.

I hated being weak. Physically or mentally. Ever since my Father had turned out to be… well… not the man I thought he was, I had promised myself never to again put myself in a position where I could be overpowered. It was…a defense mechanism of sorts I suppose…which was probably why I was completely bugged out of my mind right now.

I extended Truthseeing skills, trying to see if I was close.

A while later, a tendril of someone's thoughts entered my mind.

"… cannot _BELIEVE_ she is making us _slave _away…"

Dillon. I smiled.

I was close.

Snapping a branch off a nearby tree, I tried using it as support. It burnt into cinder before my eyes and I growled in annoyance.

10 minutes later, I could here faint voices.

"HONESTLY Dillon its NOT all _that_ hard. _And_ your ability is physical strength!"

"So says the immortal!!"

"That is not a comeback for _everything I say_ Dillon."

I smiled again. I didn't realise how good it felt hearing Matt and Dillon arguing away. Although now it was less I-KILL-YOU and more casual banter. Thank heavens that hatchet was buried.

I walked, or rather trudged on for another couple of minutes before I found the little hidden clearing.

The moment I walked through, Neriah's head snapped in my direction. I took a hesitant step backwards into the foliage when she smiled in a sneaky, absolutely un-Neriah way.

Turning around and issuing a stream of curt instructions, hands pointing and gesticulating animatedly, she walked out of the clearing.

I saw Dillon throw his hands up and fall to his knees, calling out to thank the Gods in a mocking, teasing manner. Grinning, Matt just strolled off, wrapping his arm around Neriah with Dillon trailing behind them.

What on Earth was she up to?

And then Ethan walked out from behind the piles of rubble, animating what looked to be a big, flat stone disc and remnants of machines.

Oh. I get it. That scheming Immortal.

But my eyes were too busy following Ethan's every movement. The way his brow crinkled in confusion when he saw everyone was gone. The way he ran his hands through his tousled dark hair, almost subconsciously and looked around. The way the sun caught his eyes and made them shine.

And suddenly my hands went clammy, shooting sparks all over the place. There were butterflies wreaking havoc in my stomach and I was taking frantic breaths.

I knew I had to walk out there. And I knew I was going to. But what would I do? What would I say? I didn't have those feminine instincts that come so much in handy at times like these. Nobody in their right minds would call me feminine and pretty, like Neriah. I didn't have an effervescent, quirky personality like Isabel. I was quiet and stubborn and strong. I could get very defensive and at the same time very emotional. I intimidated people, as Ethan had said so himself. I have never, ever been in a relationship, apart from Matt. And Matt didn't even count because Marduke had drilled into the darkest crevices of my head that Matt was just-my-next-"mission". Period. Fullstop. Blank. Simply the means to an end.

_Whatever did Ethan even see in me?_

I took in a deep breath. Whatever was going to happen could not happen with me having a nervous breakdown hiding behind trees.

And so, as Ethan walked around the clearing trying to figure out _where_ everyone had gone, I took another gigantic breath and walked into the sunlight.

He turned around and stopped, those gorgeous blue eyes widening. With a massive crash, everything that he had been levitating fell.

I blushed. I _hated_ that about me - the way any little thing could make me turn bright red. I walked almost all the way upto him.

Taking two tentative steps forward, Ethan stopped, running his hands through his hair againm his eyes ablaze with a symphony of emotions I couldn't decipher.

"Hi" I said softly.

_Hi? _What the hell was I thinking of?!

For a moment, as I turned more and more interesting shades of red, there was this shocked sort of silence.

Oh boy…

And then with a delighted chuckle and a shake of his head, Ethan covered the distance between and literally lifted me right off my feet into a bone-crushing hug, sending all my insecurities flying away. He buried head in my shoulder and I wrapped my arms around him tightly, holding on for my dear, dear life. I could feel his breath again my neck, soft and warm, and his hands around my middle holding me almost ferociously.

And it felt more perfect than I could ever have imagined. Like home, after a long, cruel war. Which it was.

"God I missed you so much", he murmured incoherently into my ears and for a moment, I almost felt like _crying_,

I just hugged him back, hard, to let him know that I'm back, _feel_ that I'm back.

He set me down gently on my feet, his arms still encircling me lightly and I immediately looked anywhere but those blazing eyes. Using one long finger, he tilted my chin, so I had no choice but to look at him.

"You have no idea how long I've waited for this.", he said, his expression inscrutable. "I love you."

And my emotions soared, just at the sound of those three little words. There was a ring of truth to it, and even though he had an easy smile on his face, his eyes bore into me with the intensity of someone who knew exactly, _exactly_ what they were talking about.

His hand now on my cheek, he slowly angled my head and bent his, capturing my lips into a powerful, heart-rending, electrifying kiss, like the final affirmation of everything he had just told me. I wrapped my arms even tighter around his neck, and kissed him right back, softly and surely. It was heavenly, absolutely brillaint, like a euphoric cocktail of emotions, so soft yet so passionate. Moving away for just a moment to catch our breaths, he kissed the side of my neck before diverted his attention back to my mouth. It became a battle of wills then, hard and strong and needy. My fingers tangled into his hair as he swung his arm around my waist, pulling me flush against him. Every coherent through in my head flew away. My back arched deliciously as I poured _everything_ I had into that kiss, pulling him closer ad closer into me till we felt like one, breaths mingling, limbs entangled. And when we broke apart, I could feel myself flushed and mussed up. He smiled softly, resting his forehead against mine, my arms still around his neck.

"I love you too", I told him with a smile, and his eyes clouded with almost ferocious joy. "Always have, always will."

* * *

Well, I hope you like it!

And thank you so much for all the lovely reviews. You have no idea how super excited I get on reciveing every single one. You guys make my day! So please keep them coming!

Dedicated To - Chemistry Class Fiascos, and everyone who booms, pops and fizzles.


	7. Boats Against The Current

**Boats Against The Current**

This chapter wasn't uploaded completely for starters, so here's the whole thing.

For the last year I gave up on this story. Not because I didn't think it had potential, or because I lost inspiration, but

because of a series of personal tragedies that made me want to shut off for a while.

The last few months have been the hardest of my life, and the worst is yet to come. But when I came across this fic on my

computer a week ago, I fell in love with it all over again. And for the sake of who I was, here is the rest of it.

Hope you have fun, sorry for that little snippet of angst, and I PROMISE, there's more to come :)

* * *

_Ethan's POV_

"I love you too", she said clearly, looking at me square in the eyes, and I felt something primal and almost predatory rear within me, kicking up a raging storm of emotion - of joy and of exaltation, of relief and of triumph.

And at that moment I just _knew_ that, come heaven or hell or Marduke's raging armies all in one, there was no way I was going to let go of the girl before me, let go of her mystery and her strength and the sheer joy of unlocking that impenetrable wall she had built around herself.

I bent my head down again, our foreheads and noses touching. Her eyes fluttered shut as she let out a soft sigh as I claimed her lips yet again, a smile on my face. It was heavenly.

That was _just_ about when she pushed me away.

I frowned quizzically at her, wrapping my arms around her in stubborn retaliation. A small smile on her face, she shook her head softly.

"No. We need to talk." she said resolutely and I frowned more. Smiling, she planted a small kiss on the tip of my nose and then continued. "As lovely as that was, I'm dying, pardon the pun, to know why I'm not…well…dead"

"_Lovely!_" I spluttered with feigned horror. "That's all you have to say?! _Lovely?!_ You wound me, love."

She took the bait, shaking her head and laughing.

"Oh I'm sure you'll get over it" she answered with a wide smile, hands coming up to my shoulders. "Besides, I've only ever been known to tell the truth"

"_That is it!"_ I answered firmly, albeit with a small smile, tightening my hold around her waist. "Now I'm duty bound to change your mind."

Leaning forward, I placed a small kiss on her jaw, and she tilted her head slowly.

"Duty bound to whom?" she gasped and I smiled against her skin.

Taking my time, kissing a leisurely path up to her lips, I stopped for a moment to answer her.

"Why my ego, of course" I replied seriously.

She let out a laugh and I took the opportunity to kiss her thoroughly again, revelling in the way her hands almost instantly twined around my neck to pull me closer.

And when she least expected it, I abruptly pulled away and walked towards a towering tree at the edge of her clearing. Turning by head back at her nonplussed expression, her dark hair in wild disarray and her face flushed pink, I smirked at her.

"Thought you wanted to talk?"

_Rochelle's POV_

The absolute bastard! My mouth fell open at his last words, fists balling as he threw me a lazy wink and sauntered over to the edge of the clearing.

Gathering my wits and smoothening my hair and clothes down, I followed him, sitting cross legged besides him before turning to face him.

He sighed and took my hand in his, and I got the distinct notion that it was more for his reassurance that mine. I covered his dark hand with mine, my lips quirking up. God I don't believe I've smiled as much as I have the last 15 minutes.

"So now we talk" he whispered, dark emotions flitting across his face, worrying me. Squeezing his hand in mine, I took the plunge.

"You've changed" I said, raising my hand to his chin to scrutinize his face. Forcing him to meet my gaze. "You're skinnier and leaner…and…_tougher_…and stronger, not just physically but mentally… like you've faced the worst the world has to offer to come back alive. You're face looks _gaunt_…as though you haven't eaten or slept in _weeks_. What have you done to yourself?"

He looked up at me, his expression held stoic with fragile control and I felt my heart clench. Ethan was never so controlled…so pensive…so guarded. Hell the barricades he held around his mind right now were almost impregnable, kept firmly in place.

"So much has changed. Isabel's eyes are _purple_! I know something big has happened. I just don't know what it is. And then there's the biggest question, I'm bloody alive."

It was as though I couldn't stop.

"I _remember_ dying Ethan", I said forcefully. "I remember the pain and…and the _blinding_ relief that you were alive and safe. That I had saved you. I _remember_ seeing that arrow in me, glinting and shining and so_sharp_. I remember feeling the poison take over. It bloody hurt. And I remember seeing your face. It was the last thing I saw. You were crying. I know for a fact that I didn't survive that. And now I'm alive? What…what in hell happened?"

My voice had reduced to a whisper, and I took a moment to look up at Ethan.

A surge of emotion washed over his face now, and he looked almost _pained_. I covered his hand with both of mine, holding on as tightly as possible. Trying to let him know that I was _there_ and _real_ and not going away for a long, long time.

"Ethan you know you can tell me anything", I pleaded.

There was a moment of silence, as he stared at our entwined hands. And then he looked up at me straight in the eye, and for a moment, I was taken aback by just how strong and raw and _real_ his agony was.

"You _died_ Rochelle", he said, the anguish echoing through the hoarse timbres of his voice. "You died in _my_ arms, right before _my_ eyes, taking an arrow that was meant to be _mine! _You died _because of me_. Because of my enmity with Marduke. And I couldn't do anything about it."

He got up now, running his hands in his hair in anxiety, pacing before me,

"You have no idea how…painful that what", he said, his quick steps letting on his agitation. "I ran through this very forest to try and find Isabel, but it was too late. You had already started turning cold and … and you're eyes had shut and… amd..._the_ _blood on your shirt_… "

He stopped pacing and balled his fists as emotion swept over him. I felt my heart break at his loss, at how he must have felt. I didn't even notice that my hands had flown to my mouth.

"You weren't supposed to die", he said, devastated. "I finally had you…I was there _holding_ you… we were supposed to be together and live a normal life. The life that had been denied to both you and me since we were born. You have no idea how angry I was…how devastated. I found Marduke in the forest, and I couldn't even kill him. I said he wasn't worth the effort of my revenge. I don't regret that decision Rochelle, but... in a world where ethics and morals didn't exist, Roh I wouldn't have ripped him limb from limb with my bare hands."

I was spellbound by his words, horrified by the pictures he painted by the sheer passion in his voice, rage, sorrow, pain, relief all ebbing and flowing into one another. I was holding my breath unknowingly, and a small part of me felt so proud of the man before, of the immense strength of character he had shown at the hardest moment of his life.

"I lived three weeks without you…with you dead" he said slowly, almost unbelievingly. "They were the worse three weeks of my life. Everything I saw reminded me of you. Of your eyes and you face. Of the way you smiled… so rarely. Of how loyal and fierce you were on that battlefield. God, I couldn't eat…I couldn't sleep. I was camping out in the forest…near that lake you love being by, just because I couldn't fucking stand being around people. People who still had something good and pure in their lives that hadn't been taken away from them. I didn't just hate myself for letting you die, but hated the Order and the Guard and the_fucking_ prophecy and _every other thing_ that in any way contributed to you having to die."

He stopped pacing and walked over to where I sat, slumping down against the tree, knees pulled up. Staring out in front of him, with his hand about his knees and his hair falling over his eyes he had never look so vulnerable.

The words fell from his lips like words of a memorized song, scenes that he's probably gone over in his head over and over again. Unknowingly, tears had started falling from my eyes. Tears, not just for his anguish and painful journey, but tears for the aftermath of the war. For the death of our Tribunal, Lady Arabella, Lord Penbarin, King Richard. I didn't even realize that I had been crying till my vision blurred. Ethan had been describing, in almost agonizing detail, Lord Penbarin's death.

Pausing for a moment, he look at me and his expression softened. Pulling me into him, I rested my head against his shoulder and he continued.

I don't know how long we sat there, as bits and pieces of the enormous, incredible, terrible adventure they had fell into place. Isabel gave a bit of her life for me. Maduke was alive. Tears fell unbidden from my face, even though I barely made a sound, and Ethan simply clutched me harder against him. All these emotions he was holding in exploded out into words, and I was glad. Glad that he was letting go of it all, of the past. At that point of time, with me in Ethan arms and his hands almost desperately holding mine, I didn't know who needed the support more. And then there was Isabel. I didn't know what to think… or what to tell her._How_ to tell her how loved and wanted she had made me feel in a matter of hours.

As he finished, the last few words falling out of his mouth, he just closed his eyes and buried his head in my hair, like he was tired of reliving that nightmare. I felt exactly the same. Turning a little so that I could hold him properly, we just stayed there for a while, calming ourselves in each others arms, holding each other as tight as we possibly could.

And then I spoke. I had to.

"I love you Ethan" I started softly and he just held me tighter, if that was even possible. "But there is nothing you could ever have done to prevent my death. Nothing."

I could feel him stiffen. He raised his head and looked at me, sapphire eyes rimmed red and jaw held tight.

"You don't know that", he said harshly. "There is so much I could have done."

"Ethan you were the one person who were _always_ there for me. Even when the Guard distrusted me. You were probably one of the only reasons I kept going on. You fought Lorian and Matt and _God_ knows whom else for me. Ethan you were willing to _drown_ with me so that I wouldn't be alone in death. There is not a moment in my stay with the Guard when I truly believed that you hated me. Whatever you said with words, you contradicted with actions. Always."

He looked at me desolately, almost begging of that to be the truth,

"And how many ever times you go back into the past, I will _always_ take that arrow for you. There is nothing you can do to stop it or prevent it to happen", I added resolutely and a pained look came onto his face. "What would you have done in my place?"

I could see that he understood then, despite his guilt and I brought my hand to his face,

"You have nothing to be guilty about Ethan", I said, "Nothing at all. You were my rock. I don't know if you know this, but you were the reason I even woke up from the today."

He looked surprised, and a bit relieved as though a heavy burden had been lifted off his shoulders. Smiling softly, he buried his head in my neck, and I brought my hands around his neck.

"Never ever go away again" he whispered, so softly that I could barely hear him, "Ever"

"I promise" I said softly, not really knowing how long that would last, but sensing that he needed that right now. "I'm back and you're here and we're going to be together for a long, long time."

He looked up and grinned wolfishly, before kissing me yet again. I completely surrendered, like I always do, revelling in being surrounded and engulfed by everything that was him. There was no way I was ever going to get tired of this.

"What did you mean you woke up because of me?", he asked suddenly, blue eyes glinting.

"Well, I don't quite know…", I started off, a little uncomfortable. I mean if anyone told me that they heard voice amid a sea of blue in their subconscious while in coma, I'd think they were crazy."Well everything was blue. I don't know how. And I sort of felt compelled to just… letting go. I couldn't move or open my eyes or talk. And everything hurt. All I felt like doing was getting rid of all the emotion and pain. I was very close to just…succumbing to the sleep, as odd as that sounds. But then I heard your voice. You were saying all sorts of things. I didn't recognize you then. But I do now."

He grinned and got up, pulling me with him. Kissing me lightly on the top of the head we started walking off towards Arkarian's chambers.

"So you heard everything?" he asked me, and I could sense some trepidation.

"Well no…" I started. "But it was when you said we'd beat up Dillon that I absolutely made up my mind"

* * *

_Neriah's POV_

I busied myself by materializing enough chairs for everyone who's going to be here today, trying to fit in enough chairs for everyone in Arkarian's chambers. Now almost completely full with devices salvaged from the Citadel, it looked cluttered, yet in a homey, cosy way.

Matt walked in and hugged me from behind. I smiled and leaned into his embrace.

"It's a big day you know?" I reminded him softly. "You ready?"

"Am I ever?" he sighed. "I swear this job is _not_ for me."

I laughed. I knew as much as he tried to convince himself that Arkarian was better of being the leader of the group, he knew somewhere deep down inside that it was in his blood to do what he was doing right now.

"Have they left yet?" he asked suddenly, flopping down on one of the cushioned wooden stools. His brown hair fell over his eyes, shadowing his gold-brown eyes.

"Matt they're seeing each other after three weeks" I reminded him and he chuckled softly. "And yes, they have left. The shields are activated."

Matt and I had created a rather intricate shield over the ruins of the Citadel, to protect it from people stumbling on it. The stuff lying there amongst the rubble was priceless, machinery that my father...no…_Marduke_would _die_ to get his hands on.

Die. My father _had_ died. A long time ago.

Matt nodded and beckoned me over to him. With a smile and a dramatic sigh, I flopped right down besides him, his hand coming around me.

"Its going to be all different now isn't it?" he said sombrely and I smiled despite is desolation.

"Nothing you can't handle" I assured him.

"Neriah I'm taking over _Lo_-" he started but I cut him off.

"Matt we're all fumbling about here" I told him seriously, trying to calm his insecurities. "No one expects you to be Lorian in a day. But of there was anyone who could ever really fill up his shoes, it's you. And you're doing a brilliant job so far. So you have to believe you can do it."

He looked like he was going to argue, but then just nodded slightly, just as Arkarian walked in, Shawn and Dillon in tow.

Minutes later, Isabel and Jimmy arrived, and I stifled a laugh as Matt stiffened when Arkarian kissed the top of her head.

He glared at me and I glared right back, till he relented grudgingly.

And then finally, like the climatic unfurling of a drama, Ethan walked in, holding Rochelle's hand. I could literally feel everyones eyes slide up to her, as did mine. She looked breathtaking, in a peaceful, content way that I had never seen on anyone before. Except perhaps Ethan, standing protectively beside her.

There was a moment of silence, before everyone in the room burst out into warm cheers and applauses. I winked at Rochelle as she flushed bright pink. Before anyone could say a thing, Dillon literally leaped across the room, his face paper white and hugged her in a grand, sweeping motion.

"Thank GOD you're back!" he started, little realising that Rochelle was literally dangling off his embrace. "I am _so_ sorry Roh I'm so sorry. I should _never_ have said those things. I'm-"

"Dillon you're choking her!" Matt pointed out, grinning slightly at the dark looks Ethan was shooting Dillon. Lucky for him, Dillon pulled away.

"Dillon it's not your fault. It never was!" she tried to tell him but he cut her off.

"I was a complete _asshole_. I didn't mean it. You're my best friend in all of Austrailia. Well, the rest of the world too but…and I'm so happy you're back. God knows what I'd have done without you." He let on in a jumbled mess, eyes wide, before Rochelle slammed her hand over his mouth.

"What is it with everyone going on a guilt trip when I died", she smiled and Dillon finally relaxed, stance visibly slackening, before grinning widely. My eyes were riveted elsewhere though – Rochelle's hands. They weren't sparking their characteristic purples. I was slightly surprised.

One by one everyone went over and hugged her, and it would take an idiot not to see the tears threatening to fall from her eyes. When Isabel came over Rochelle whispered the most heartfelt thank-you I've _ever_probably heard.

And when I walked over to her I smiled widely.

"Welcome back", I told her. "You can't believe how _messed up_ everything was without you"

She smiled and hugged me for a moment.

"I'd hope so" she joked. And mind you, Rochelle _never_ jokes. Or cries for that matter. Things have certainly...changed.

"You're hands aren't sparking" I pointed out casually and a look of surprise graced her face.

"Oh…I…I um…didn't even realise myself" she said in genuine surprise, glancing over at Ethan.

"How could that happen?" wondered Matt, before smiling warmly at Rochelle and hugging her.

"How do you feel Rochelle?" I asked her, a seed of an idea in my head.

She looked confused. "Feel? I dunno….well enough. Isabel said I'd be a tad tired but…?" she said, a frown between her eyes.

"No I mean emotionally…" I asked.

"Oh", she said softly, at then it hit her, and she started with wonder at her perfectly undestructive (for the moment) hands. Ethan looked at her quizzically.

"At peace. I feel at peace." she muttered, barely loud enough for me to hear her, and I felt Matt squeeze my hand.

"Thought so", I told her, walking away so that Shawn could talk to her.


	8. Meeting Commenced

**A Meeting Commenced**

Here's the next chapter up! :) Reviews, criticism and comments are welcome. Hint: The story's going to take

a lighter tone soon, so those ofyou a bit weighed down by the dark-doom-despair

of it all right now should hang on just a bit :)

* * *

Neriah's POV

"Obviously, apart from Rochelle coming back there have been a lot of…interesting…new developments the last few days" started Matt, standing in the middle of the ring of chairs I set up.

Dillon coughed loudly and I glared at him.

"Basically Marduke is back" said Matt bluntly, and a wave of fidgets and uncomfortable stares swept across the room.

I saw Ethan tense and throw a harrowed glance at Rochelle, who was unnaturally still.

"What makes us so sure?" asked Shawn suddenly.

"I saw him Dad", interjected Ethan in a matter of fact way.

"No hear me out" continued Shawn. "All you saw was him disappear. No one saw him survive the curse or anything."

"The curse is black and white Shawn", said Arkarian with full certainty, eyes sombre. "Only if Rochelle dies, Marduke dies. And Rochelle didn't die."

But Dillon seemed to have been taken in by Shawn's idea. "Even if he is alive, he hasn't done anything" he said. "He could just have left, given up, disappeared."

Matt opened his mouth to say something but Dillon hushed him quiet.

"I hated the war", he said honestly. "Don't take this the wrong way, I would put myself in the line of fire for the Guard in a heartbeat, but I hated what we went through the last couple of months. And I don't see why we are jumping to conclusions that would simply demand more violence without any conclusive proof."

I was shaking my head, and I didn't even intend to.

"He would never just give up", I replied, almost bitterly, and all the eyes in the room shifted to me. "I know my father, probably better than anyone else out here, except Shawn maybe. I saw what the war did to him, and believe me if there is even the slimmest chance for revenge, he _will_ seize it. He's always had a one track mind, always had to have one obsessive goal in his head. At first it was my mum, then it was revenge towards Shaun, then me and now...well...now he's obsessed with geting back at Ethan and Rochelle."

There was a hushed silence as Dillon nodded, and I searched for Matt's eyes. He gave me a small smile and an understanding nod, eyes compassionate, and I felt a little less tense.

"Okay then", said Arkarian, eyes darting worriedly at me, breaking the silence and jolting me out of my uncomfortable reverie. "I think we all agree that Marduke is back for good then."

"So now what?" asked Rochelle calmly.

"Right now we are in no position to launch another offensive and try and root Marduke out." said Matt, shrugging nonchalantly. "We don't even have the Citadel, let alone manpower and technology."

"So all we can do now is lead a normal life. At least try to, at any rate. We must be on our guards constantly, but until we sort things out, we can't go hunting Marduke", I continued, at Matt signal. "Right now Arkarian and I are going to focus on de-flooding the Veridian and equipping it to be our new headquarters. We'll probably ask some of you guys to help us out once we figure the details out. Ethan, Rochelle, Dillon, Isabel, Matt and I will still have to go to school, at least until we graduate. And…yeah"

"Ahem" said Jimmy suddenly, and all eyes turned to him. He had stood up, and was clutching his hands nervously. I was surprised at how solemn the usually effervescent, confident man was.

"Shawn and I have something to say" he said softly, glancing up at Ethan's father.

There was a bated silence. I didn't need a sixth sense to know that another bomb was dropping.

"We're retiring, basically" said Shawn, looking up at everyone calmly, almost anticipating the ensuing reaction.

My jaw dropped. _Retiring?!_ From the Guard?! Ethan's reaction was similar, eyes wide as saucers. I saw Isabel's hand fly to her mouth, and even Dillon took a step backward. Shawn and Jimmy were…well…there were _integral_ to the Guard. I can't even _imagine_ being without them! Without them, we'll very literally be a bunch of teenagers stumbling about, trying to control something way to big to handled alone.

But I pushed that apprehension aside. Now was not the time. And at any rate, I was going to have to be strong for Matt's sake.

"Its been too long" continued Shawn, and for the first time I noticed how tired he looked. In all the war-induced adrenaline, we had forgotten that he was, after all, in his late forties, barely an age to be exerting himself the way it was demanded of him. "I want to spend more time with Laura, with her finally getting better. I'm not pressurizing you into anything Ethan…I know this is in your blood, but _both_ of us cannot be a part of this. And I've had more than my share of the adventure…I'm almost looking forward to a quieter life. Jimmy's had had enough too. We're simply getting too old for this, kids."

Ethan, eyes wide and unblinking. Walked up to his father, he hugged him in encouragement, and I Shawn's shoulders sagged in relief. "I'm going to miss you here Dad" he muttered quietly.

"Good for you Shawn", said Rochelle softly, smiling and soon everyone else followed. Hugging Jimmy and Shawn and shaking their hands.

"There one more thing", said Jimmy, still looking slightly green. "Matt, Isabel, I'm going to ask your mum to marry me."

I gasped. Ohh this was going to be bad.

* * *

_Matt's POV_

Wait. WHAT?!

I took a deep breath, but Jimmy's words still rung around in my head.

Jimmy. Ask _my_ mum to marry him! My fists clenched and I struggled to calm myself and think through this rationally.

_Clench Unclench Clench Unclench_

"Why?" I asked, aware that I sounded cold and oddly, calm. I saw Isabel shake her head warningly at me from the corner of my eye but chose to ignore it.

Neriah was already at my side, the pressure on my shoulder both a warning to rein my temper in and solid encouragement to get my questions out of the way.

Jimmy looked confused. Oh great, _that_ was reassuring. Bloody fantastic.

"Because I love her" he said slowly, honestly. "I always knew that, but….it took the war to put things into perspective for me. Like Shawn said, I'm not as young and reckless as I used to me, my priorities have changed. And nearly dying has made me redefine life. I don't want to spend another minute lying and hiding things from her. I want to marry her."

I was flabbergasted. There was no way I could _not_ believe every word he was saying, but…

"But you're just her Protector", I spluttered forth, wincing at how callous it sounded. "I mean…Dartemis told me that he had you here just looking after Mum"

"That might be a slight, understatement", said Jimmy coldly, looking at his shoes for a minute. "You probably know that I knew your mum in college, and after Isabel's father left, we spent quite some time together. Dartemis always knew how I felt about her. That's _why_ he chose me as her Protector"

I narrowed my eyes, but before I could say anything Isabel dove in.

"I'm really, really happy for you Jimmy" she said sincerely throwing that look she reserved especially for me. The one that said you're-being-a-prat and just-stop-talking-now, all at once. "Its going to be great having you a part of our famly, officially."

Throwing another glare at me, she continued,

"And even though he's acting like a pig, I'm sure he realises that you two really love each other. I've never seen Mum happier."

I was forced to grudgingly admit to that. Catching the amused look in Neriah's eye, I shook my head with a glower. Finally calming down, I did the right thing.

"She's right Jimmy" I added with a stiff smile, elicing a similar response from him. "Besides, who says you're officially a part of the family yet. Mum still has to say yes."

Jimmy let out a huge guffaw, and everyone else chortled too as Isabel whacked me on the back of my head.

_What?_


	9. Don't Dream, Its Not Over

DON'T DREAM, ITS NOT OVER

Note to Readers: I'm giong to insert a little anachronism into the story, much against my highly annoyed and protesting will, to

**make the story easier to understand for us Northern Hemisphere-ers. I have friends in **

**the Land Down Under so I know that their equivalent of a **

**school summer break happens during our winter. But I'm going to conviniently**

**forget that fact and carry on otherwise.**

**Sorry! :(**

**On a relatively brighter note, the sun has come out here at Cal after AGES so I'm slightly happier,**

**even though I promised myself I'm going to keep myself cooped up**

**in my dorm room and figure out how to solve Taylor series and differential equations all day :(**

**I hate Math. Like, a LOT. **

**

* * *

  
**

_Rochelle's POV_

Neriah was going mental. Crazy. Absolutely ballistic.

It was all quite amusing.

Isabel grinned and winked at me, as we watched the petite, tiny, innocent looking girl yell at Dillon and Matt loud enough to make them shiver, while simultaneously checking things off a long list in her hands.

"Unexpected huh?" Ethan whispered into my ear from behind and I jumped.

Scowling at him, I swatted at his chest and replied. "Remind me again why we thought she was docile?"

Isabel laughed. "She's really taking this whole wedding thing quite seriously. It's a good thing though! Time has just whoosed past.."

I ahd to agree. I could scarcely believe how quickly the months had flown by; the summer almost over and the wedding just hours away. Matt had thrown a howling fit (in private of course) when his mum had agreed to marry Jimmy, but even he had to see how happy it made her. He obviously did come around, and didn't take to long at it either. Personally, these days I think the whole Mr. Overprotective is just a facade Matt likes put on, maybe just as a shout out to the old times or maybe even to test us. He's changed. We all have.

I don't think I've _ever_ been to a wedding. I don't any of us (perhaps barring Neriah though, just perhaps) were the sorts to plan out that "special day of our lives" years in advance, and dream about it and long for it. But there was something oddly appealing to the whole thing, some little bit of honesty and beauty left in the institution that hadn't been sullied by glamorization on the pages of Cosmo.

Ugh Ethan was right. I'm just a sap inside.

Neriah walked towards us, still checking things off her list.

"This is terrible" she said, dark eyes widening. "I promised Jimmy it would be perfect, but those dolts couldn't even pick the right flowers. I mean how hard are lillies from rose. _Lilies_. It wasn't like I was asking for something like...like..._Brazilian gloxinias_ or something!"

Isabel grinned. "Trust me Neriah, Jimmy won't care about _flowers_. You're doing a brilliant job. Especially with all the de-rubbling you've had to juggle it with"

Neriah nodded, taking a small breath before relaxing.

"You're right." she said with a sly smile. "So Isabel, you can accompany Matt and Dillon to go _right back_ to the Florist's and get the right order this time."

"But-"

"_Really_?! Do you _really_ want to argue me on this?" asked Neriah sweetly.

Isabel sighed and walked away, throwing Ethan and I an amused glance.

"You and Ethan, please, to up to Jimmy and make sure he's alright. And while you're at it, remind Shaun that he's absolutely not to give Matt the ring until the absolute last possible moment. Plan counter attacks on Immortals he can do, but protect a tiny box for two hours is probably not the best idea for him..." continued Neriah, waving us off.

"Wow" I laughed and Ethan nodded, as we went over to the room where Jimmy was getting ready.

"Is everything going fine?" he immediately asked us with a nervous laugh as we entered.

Ethan grinned. "Stop worrying Jimmy, its Neriah. She's on a warpath to make sure it all goes according to plan!"

Shaun laughed.

"You're sure you have everything right. Your tie, your vows, your-"

Jimmy face paled. "The vows. Oh damn." he murmured, immediately dashing towards the door.

"Wait, I'll come with you." Ethan volunteered. "I have my mum's car."

Throwing me a small smile, Ethan hurried off, leaving me behind with Shaun. I gazed at the door behind them.

"Oh and Neriah wants me to remind you that you are absolutely not to give Matt the ring box till the last possible moment" I remembered, turning to look at Ethan's father. He smiled and nodded his head in acknowledgement.

There was a moment of silence. I had no idea what to say. I mean, I'd always known Shaun as a member of the Guard, but somehow, standing here, he was Shaun, my boyfriend's father, and that was a man I'd never met.

"He's happy you know?" Shaun suddenly said, looking over at me with a genuine smile, the corners of his eyes creasing, those same eyes that I see everyday on Ethan.

I blinked. I didn't know what to say.

"I'm glad you're back Rochelle." he added. "And if I've ever made you feel unwanted here, I apologize, but I have to say that having you back was probably the best thing to happen to my son in a very long time."

"Thank you" I whispered genuinely. "I hoped you wouldn't blame me for how he was before. I'm glad you don't. And Ethan is pretty much the best thing to have happened to me in a long time too, so we're both even there."

Shaun laughed, shaking his head.

"Its hard to believe you two are just eighteen. The Guard...it seems to age everything. All you kids are so much older than your age. Ican't imagine you lot going back to school in a couple of days"

I grimaced, and Shaun laughed out loud.

Yes. That too. Even though I was supposed to have graduated in spring, Lathenia's lightening storm and rat attack _thing_ had completely demolished our school, let alone injure a lot of our teachers. What was once a modern, compact school building was now piles of rubble and broken walls that nearly rivalled that of the Citadel.

The school board had decided to divide up the students among the three other local schools. As 12th Graders, we could either have taken summer classes and graduated just before fall, or repeated our senior year, albeit with a considerably lighter work load at another school.

Most of us chose the latter. Besides, having to deal with the aftermath of the Order, rogue wizards and whatnot (and me being dead), it would have been impossible to manage summer school too. Even though Isabel and Neriah had done just that, both claiming it was before they didn't want to miss out on the "academic expeience". Yeah freaking right. Did they really think we were going to fall for it? Neriah simply wanted to be closer to Matt and Isabel, closer to the day she graduates and can spend her time with certain blue haired, maroon eyed men.

Ethan and Jimmy rushed back in, Jimmy clasping onto a scrap of paper. With a warm nod at him, Ethan and I went back to Neriah, who was now frantically (and sneakily, mind you), lighting all the candles in the Church with a single sweep of her hands.

Ethan coughed, eyes twinkling and Neriah jumped to face us with a guilty look.

A little beeper rang from her pocket, and she quickly checked her watch. "Time for us to get ready" she said, eyes widening. "And I still think we're late. Come on!"

Isabel and I quickly followed the diminutive girl, lest we had to face her wrath. Ethan chuckled behind us, and I shot him a dark look.

Matt's mum had chosen us as her bridesmaids, so there was no way I could skive off the whole dress deal. And so, an hour later, I found myself in a ridiculous little blue affair, with a flouncy knee length skirt and elaborate floral designs on the bodice. And a bow. A huge, satiny, blue bow.

At least it wasn't frills. I _despise_ frills.

We spent the next hour helping Matt and Isabel's mum get dressed. As much as Neriah was trying to be strict and bossy about the whole deal, you could see her girlish delight at the whole affair, the way she couldn't stop smiling as we adjusted veils and shined jewellery. I have to admit, it was contagious and even I soon found myself humming and grinning and playing along.

A mad bustle later, it was finally time for the ceremony. I peered out into the chapel, admiring its décor. It was a tiny but cosy place, with long, stained glass windows on all ends and spiralling pillars adorned with lilies. Not roses, lilies.

The first few notes of the wedding tune chimed out, resonating in the tiny chapel. It was picturesque. A little flower girl tripped endearingly on her skirts as Isabel walked out, Matt by her side. Neriah followed her, with tiny graceful steps and a small smile as she placed her arm on Arkarian's. And then I stepped out into the dusk of the chapel, walking in time with the music, leaning on to Ethan's arm besides me, his warm smile and mine setting butterflies in my stomach.

Neriah literally sobbed when Matt's mum came, looking a radiant vision in a veiled cream gown, holding pale lilies. It was just something about weddings that sets you off, and even Isabel couldn't hold back a sniffle during the exchange of vows.

It was simple and beautiful, and absolutely brilliant. The colourful splay of light from the painted windows, the small congregation of close family and friends, the simple, sweet, heartfelt vows.

And then there was the reception, a large-ish affair, more of a formality, really. As everyone danced to the music or drowned down drinks, I sat at a table with a very, very bored Dillon, massaging my ankle.

And trust me, a bored Dillon is _not_ good.

"I just don't see the point of a reception" said Dillon slumping down on the table and loosening his tie. "They're bloody Mr. and Mrs. James McKinnon already…what's the point of having this…pretentious little affair. I swear if I get accosted by one more old lady trying to set me up with their nieces I'm going to scream."

I tousled his hair and grinned.

"Aw, aren't we in demand?" I said and he scowled. "Oh stop being such a big baby"

"Bit I'm _bored_!" he sighed dramatically and I laughed. "You know, you're all lucky. You got to walk down the aisle with Ethan. Isabel got to walk down with Matt...well maybe she's not all that lucky-"

I hit him on head for his playful teasing and he grinned before continuing.

"-and Neriah got to walk with Arkarian because no one wanted to set Mrs. "_Best friend of the Bride_" with the blue-haired man so _I_ was the one stuck with her." he grumbled, imitating the woman's sqeaky, high pitched voice. "She was terrible. _Horribly_ whiny. How the new Mrs. McKinnon can stand her is a _mystery_!"

Arkarian suddenly appeared in front of me, an indecipherable look on his face. In an instant, I knew something was wrong. He had opted for brown lenses to try and make him fit in at least a little. Jimmy had refused to let him skip the wedding. The disapproving looks all the prissy women shot at his blue hair were still funny. Isabel had spent the entire reception dodging off her stern aunts and uncles, chiding her for dating "that ridiculous blue-haired boy" who "is possibly the worst influence you could have" and "Lord alone knows what things he's involved in" and "Do you think he roams with _gangs_?". I couldn't imagine _any_ old lady not liking Arkarian. It was hilarious.

"Dance", he asked politely, ever the gentleman, and I nodded, my Truthseeing immediately cranking up. But I caught nothing more from him, save his lone original thought. _Something's wrong Rochelle_.

Walking up awkwardly to the floor, I held his outstretched hand and swayed to the music.

"What happened?" I asked him nervously. "Is it Marduke"

"No..God no" he said, and I felt a sweep of relief. "It's something else."

I believe I must have looked a tad green, imagining all the things that could have gone wrong.

"I have…" he started, and then looked around, his newly brown eyes shining with worry. "I have reason to believe there's someone…like us…somewhere about."

"What do you mean?" I asked, crinkling my brow. Can he be any more crypic?!

"A potential member of the Guard" he added, a smile plastered on his face to avoid suspicion and I gasped, stopping still.

"What do you mean? How?" I spluttered all at once then calming myself and looking all around to make sure no one had noticed me. "Isn't it supposed to be over with us? We were supposed to be the last ones!"

"Evidently not" he said, looking about as confused as I felt, which was honestly, scary. "When someone with potential starts coming into his or her powers in the area… I can almost feel it. It's a sense. Matt and Neriah probably sense it too, but they won't know what it is. I've been sensing something since this morning. It's like a… flame flickering in the corner of my eye"

I tried to digest everything I had been told.

"So is he good or bad? With Marduke or with us?" I asked him slowly.

"It's hard to say yet" he said calmly shrugging his shoulders and flicking his hair behind his back. "But we can't just sit and do nothing"

"And why are you telling me this?" I asked him sombrely.

"I'm assuming that our Potential is young. That's when your powers usually emerge." he started, and the familiar quiet confidence seeped back into his voice. "So chances are he or she is going to be in school."

"And you need me to…" I started, wearily guessing his intentions and he nodded.

"Find the Potential and figure out if he or she's with Marduke yet. " he finished, eyes softening at the weary look on my face. "This is…absolutely unexpected Rochelle. You must understand. If I sense it, Marduke probably does too which means that it's going to be a race to reach this person. Suddenly, _one person_ becomes very important. Marduke, if he were ever even in hiding, is going to have come right back out the moment he sensed this."

I nodded, eyes widening.

"Why?" I asked quickly. "It doesn't even matter that much. They've lost."

"_This_ person means they have a fighting chance. At least they believe they do. As long as there are Potentials out there, they still have a chance. And that's all Marduke needs to strike back."

I took a deep breathe in.

Right. _Calm_ Rochelle, _calm_.

"Don't be worried" he suddenly added with a small smile. "Enjoy today. School starts tomorrow, and that's when you need to keep an eye out."

I nodded slowly. Not freak out!? Was he kidding me!

The song ended, and I nodded at him, thoughts a whirl.

_Potential? _

It was scary. I remember when I first started hearing all the voices in my head. Marduke had come to me just a week later and offered me the "chance of a lifetime" as he put it in. Look at how that had turned out.

Walking over to Dillon's table, I smiled as I saw him talking animatedly to a bored Ethan. I grinned even more when I heard what he was saying.

"I'm _telling_ you she's having an affair with Arkarian" he nodded convincingly. "Did you not see that romantic little dance… the air of seduction…the scent of adultery"

I rolled my eyes. _Scent_ _of adultery_. Give me a break

"Aren't you the least bit jealous mate? Rochelle in Arkarian's arms. Doesn't that twinge you the slightest bit" he continued persistently.

"Dillon I know you're bored. Please don't make me your victim", said Ethan with a small smile, trying not to laugh.

"So you're not going to go there and start a brawl?" he checked, just to be sure, and Ethan laughed.

"No", said Ethan firmly.

I went down and sat between them, grinning at Ethan before turning my gaze to Dillon's disappointed stare.

"I suggest you try that with Matt." I hinted, and his face brightened.

"Now there's a thought!" he said, delighted, before loping off gracefully. I just shook my head and laughed.

"So what _was_ that all about?" asked Ethan, a twinkle in his eyes.

"Don't tell me you're jealous?" I deadpanned, grinning and he rolled his eyes. "The scent of adultery and all."

"Dance with me?" he asked with a laugh, as a comparatively bearable song came up and I smiled.

He drew me into his arms and I rest my head on his right shoulder, closing my eyes softly as we swayed to the lilting music. It was comforting and brilliant and even weeks after us getting together, the excitement I feel just being with him hasn't dissipated.

"Apparently there's at least one more person out there like us" I informed him. "A Potential. Someone with…abilities like us. Not a Named I suppose, but still. Arkarian just told me."

Ethan sighed.

"It doesn't _feel_ like its over does it?" I mused out loud, in a way I only could around Ethan.

"Well, it'll be fun!" he said slowly and I laughed dryly.

He pulled back a little, looking a bit surprised.

"Oh come on" he said lightly. "Before the War, all this used to be fun. Adrenaline packed. Racing back into time to save the world, as cliché as that sounds. Don't tell me you never enjoyed it."

I frowned. He had a point. There used to be something exciting about the whole thing.

"But then it became _so_ much more than that. Suddenly, the whole world depended on every mission" I added softly.

"Look Roh" he said, and I scowled at the use of that word. "This is in _our_ destiny, and we both know neither of us is ever going to just walk away from the Guard. So I think we should just take it as it comes. And have fun with what we have"

A brilliant grin lit his face at that, and I couldn't resist a smile.

"I suppose starting our senior year in a whole new school would be part of that too", I said with a smile and he grimaced.

"That should be…interesting", he finally said and I smiled, relaxing against him and shutting my eyes.

Tomorrow, I'd deal with all the storms. Today, I was just going to be happy in Ethan's arms.

* * *

**The second part of the plot is slowly unfurling now so before I dive into it, ANY suggestions and comments would be very welcome. So R&R generously! **

**A HUGE thanks to all my reviewers and a Happy Easter to all! :) **

**DEDICATION**

**This chapter goes out to my little brother, who doesn't know this story exists and really wouldn't care otherwise, but has just gotten through the first big step of the rest of his life. **

**You go, Bub! (He hates it when I call him that :D) **


	10. Changes

**Changes**

**Its the summer! (Woohoo, finally)... **

**To anyone who cares, I effing KILLED those stupid Taylor polynomials. :D**

**No more Calc for me, like, EVER! (I hope)**

**Anyways, I'm at my grandparents now, and where they happen to live happens to be a place where**

**the internet connection is about as trustworthy as Marduke. On coke. **

**I wish I had super cool grandparents who actually _used_ the Internet, but unfortunately (or fortunately, however you want to see it)**

**I don't. And so I had to _dial up_ just for a few hours of crappy internet. **

**Meh, whatever :)**

**On another note : THANKS SO MUCH TO ALL MY REVIEWERS. :D **

**I love y'all!**

**

* * *

**

_Isabel's POV_

Mum burst out laughing the moment I stepped into the kitchen, practically choking on his cereal. I frowned at her.

"I look like a freak," I announced grumpily to everyone at the breakfast table, showcasing my new uniform.

I didn't have anything against a uniform. In fact, I maybe even _liked _the idea. But back at Angel's High, our uniform was extremely bearable. We were given a choice between a skirt or pants, our shirt was light and breathable and as long as we stuck to some loose guidelines stipulated, _anything _went. But King's High took the word 'uniform' to the extreme stereotype. It was _insane. _

"It looks…" started Jimmy, struggling for words. "…nice?" He beamed unconvincingly.

I glared, looking down ay my clothes. I was in a knee-length grey checked skirt, pleated and in a thick, plaid fabric. Tucked into it was a prim, white shirt with starched collars and cuffed sleeves and _impossible to button on _buttons. With a little insignia on it too. A crown. Because its _King's _High. Get it? I rolled my eyes.

And then there was the tie that I nearly hung myself trying to wear. Yes a _tie. _

I was in my own personal hell.

Matt strolled down, whistling something decidedly too happy for my tastes. _His_ uniform was decent – grey pants, a white shirt and the same navy-and-gold tie.

_Pants!_ I wished I could wear pants. Sexism was apparently well, alive and rampant at King's High. I didn't _mind _wearing skirts -I'd rather not, but I never took much issue with it even at Angel Falls High. But this skirt was ridiculously uncomfortable, the pleats making it almost embarrassingly twirly. I _despised _it.

"Hurry up with breakfast, honey," mum called out, busy buttering bagels in post-marital bliss.

Almost instantly, a loud hoot sounded outside my house. Yeah, we take a bus too now; King's High was all the way at the other end of Angel Falls. Grabbing my bag, I rushed outside, Matt right behind me, and boarded the bus. Lucky for us, it was still relatively empty, and I chose an empty seat towards the back, Matt plopping down on the one behind me. Two stops later Ethan hopped on, looking frazzled and messy, his tie unknotted and crumpled, as thoguh he'd spent hours twisting and knotting at it. Sitting besides Matt, he grinned nervously at us.

"Don't think Neriah and Rochelle are on this bus," he commented with a shrug. I kept forgetting Rochelle lived with Neriah now.

People had started filtering into the bus now, shooting us queer looks. I recognized a couple of people from my old school, mostly in the younger grades, but it seemed that a lot of the students our age had been classified into the other two schools. Thank Heavens Shawn had been able to pull a few strings and have us all transferred to the same school.

When we arrived at King's High, I was, firstly, taken aback at the size of the school. Seriously, it was _massive. _It probably had had the same number of classes and rooms as Angel Falls High, but instead of being distributed between two compact buildings, this place was _sprawling_ with seven - _seven - _different blocks distributed on a ginormous campus interspersed with playing fields and lawns and God knows what.

Ethan, Matt and I mulled around close to the gates, ignoring the curious, interested and often hostile glances of the resident students.

"This is going to be _fun" _said Ethan sarcastically, mussing up his hair and looking around for Neriah and Rochelle. I nodded in assent, one brow lifted, and leaned against the white wall, surreptitiously (or so I hoped) watching the students as they entered the school grounds. I soon came to realise that a) The uniform did not engender _any _form of conformity whatsoever. There were girls in the tiniest skirts and highest heels. (Although I distinctly remember a slightly botched mission of ours having something to do with that) There was even this one boy, all spiked hair and whitewashed skin, who had those iron-on labels plastered to the back of his shirt, announcing his love for some death metal band. b) _Everything_ about the school screamed opulence, from the students to the campus to their cars and designer bags. c) We were all going to have a _hard_ time fitting in.

Great.

I sighed to myself as Matt and Ethan debated the possibility of having the same classes. I could see a number of appreciative glances thrown in our direction, well, more specifically in the direction of Matt and Ethan, and resisted the urge to hurl. Some things _obviously_ did not change. For a moment, I really missed Arkarian. I mean I was _glad _that all of us were in the same school, but Matt had Neriah, and Ethan had Roh, and Dillon had _never _had a hard time fitting in, and it seemed, for a petulant little moment, absolutely unfair that Arkarian had finished his formative schooling in the _Middle Ages_ or whatever. I scowled.

Lucky for me, Rochelle, Dillon and Neriah entered the gates just then. I grinned immediately at Rochelle's choice of footwear - a well-worn, black pair of trainers that clashed brilliantly with her skirt.

"I hate this uniform!" she immediately burst out in greeting and I nodded fervently.

We heard a bell chime from somewhere within the depths of the school and we all rushed in the same general direction as the rest of the students, up some stairs and through a huge doorway into a hall of sorts.

The students mulled about in there, and I could see some familiar faces by a short moustached man with a clipboard.

"Ah," he murmured, looking at us as we hesitantly walked over to him. "The last few transfers I believe…"

Ticking our names on his clipboard, he nodded at a tall, striking woman on the stage.

"Silence please," she said calmly, surveying the crowd with that expression of patient suffering only teachers can pull off, and the babble immediately ceased.

"Wow." muttered Neriah. "Back at Angel Falls High we would probably have laughed out loud, into her face."

"Yeah but there's something so… _scary_ about her," shuddered Dillon back and I laughed softly.

"Welcome back to King's High!" the woman said in that same stern yet calm voice of hers. "Its great to see all of you again."

She paused.

"Firstly, to those of you who don't already know, my name is Rosalind Corel, and I am the senior school principal, and the person in charge of you lot." There were a few nods and grins from the older students. "Now the purpose of this assembly, apart from welcoming you back to school and remind you of the _challenging_ year you all have ahead of you, is to welcome some new faces."

"Great" I muttered under my breath and Matt swung his arm around me with a smile.

"As you all have probably heard", she continued. "An accident recently destroyed Angel Falls High School, due to which we have kindly taken in some of their students. While most of the students we have entered into Kings are in the younger grades, a handful of juniors and seniors with the correct course fulfilments will join your classes. I would like you to welcome them in with the true Kings spirit."

Rochelle rolled her eyes beside me, as Ms. Corel called each of us 11 seniors up on stage. The Kings High students clapped coldly for us.

Oh this was going to be just _brilliant_.

While I stood in the line to get my timetable, I saw Matt and Neriah beckon to us from a secluded corner. Grabbing my timetable with a forced grin, I moved quickly over to them, crossing my arms across my waist.

"You do know that we need to be on the lookout for a Potential" Matt started and the rest of us nodded.

"I can... I dunno….I call just _feel_ that the person is here," said Neriah, uncomfortably looking around. "Its not a like a beeper system or anything - its isn't as though bells are going to go off in my head when I'm next to whoever it is - but I _really_ _believe_ that the Potential is here."

"Just look out for anything suspicious," continued Matt and I nodded. Rochelle, who was busy scrutinizing her timetable, looked up.

"Anyone else _really _looking forward to classes," she smirked and Neriah grabbed her timetable with a suspicious look.

Five minutes later, we realized that the six of us had almost _completely_ different classes, and I _barely_ shared any of mine with them.

"Rochelle, this isn't fair!" Neriah exclaimed. "Extra credit chemistry and geology? That's cheating you know?"

Rochelle just grinned slyly, shrugging.

Ethan on the other hand had taken a bunch of History and World Lit classes, along with Matt, while Dillon was just cruising by with the minimum number of classes he needed to take. Neriah seemed to be the only other person I had _some_ classes in common with, and even she had elected many different subjects, mostly artsy ones that I had absolutely no interest in whatoever.

The gong chimed again and I walked over to my first class – Advanced math. If there was one subject I could do, it would be Math. It was simple and straightforward, where every question had one definite answer, just more than one ways to get there. If you just followed a logical deductive process, there was _no_ way you could go wrong.

Walking into the class, I took a seat towards the back.

Our teacher, Mr. Quinn soon walked into class, grinning at all of us jovially. "Ah" he said, after a minute of scrutiny. "Rather pathetic bunch, aren't we?"

I grinned. We quite were. There were _barely _sixteen of us who'd opted for Advanced Math.

"Now now, I'm not going to eat you" he continued, setting down his bag. "Move on up front. Fill up the first two rows, there are exactly enough of you to pair up. We can't have you spread all over the room."

The seats up front were doubles, and being the last one to move forward, I had no other choice but to sit in the corner by some random guy.

Dumping my bag on the floor, I seated myself and pulled out a notepad, writing down the topic for the day and the date.

"I don't really recall letting you to sit here," my partner commented in a low, composed voice.

I raised my eyebrows, looking over at him incredulously, my temper flaring. _Seriously?_

"I don't really recall _asking_ you," I retorted primly, looking back at my work.

He was of medium height, probably a couple of inches taller than me, and was currently slouched over his book. He had reddish-copper hair and strong features and would _probably_ be considered good looking, were it not for the look of distaste he was currently shooting at me.

I ignored him.

"As all of you know this is an Advanced Math class, which means _absolutely_ no slacking off is permitted." said Mr. Quinn. "Now, I personally believe that teamwork is the best way to attack Math, and usually divide my class into groups of two. So guys, the person beside you right now is going to be your partner of sorts for this class. Now you wont' have to do projects or such together, but you _are_ going to have to solve all the problems between the two of you and reach one final answer. That way, you can learn from each other. Once I start grading you, I will of course be putting you with people you'd learn better from."

I groaned, as Mr. Quinn chalked out the first question on the board. Calculus. It was easy. Within minutes I was busy solving the sum, ignoring the hushed discussions around me. With a small, triumphant 'aha!', I reached an answer, and turned to face… him.

He had finished almost at the same time as I had and we glared at each other with thinly veiled hostility.

"X+29" I relented finally and he nodded stiffly, showing me his calculations to the same conclusion.

_God_ this was going to be torture. I decided to try and strike up a truce.

"Okay, we can't obviously go on like this the rest of the year" I started, a little harshly I admit. "So, my name is Isabel Becket."

"Actually I see no reason why we can't" he replied with a frown. "As far as I'm concerned, I'll do my work and you can do yours."

I gritted my teeth. Of all the _nerve_!

"But, I'm Jared Stirling" he added, turning around to start the next question.

Sometime, very rarely, I really _don't_ like my powers. They're too passive, too reactionary, too _defensive_. Now if I could only be like Roh… I'd _blast_ this pale little prat right where he belongs!

* * *

_Dillon's POV_

This was going to be one _easy_ year to get by. All I had to do is pass English and Physics, and I'm done. It almost sounded too good to be true.

I glanced quickly at my watch. My next period was Physics, and I had _just_ enough time to grab my books before the bell rang. I jogged over to my locker, whirring in the combination. It jammed. Well, what do you know… prissy, rich schools have crappy lockers too.

Looking covertly around me, and making sure no one was watching, I jammed a finger at the locker, smiling at the deep dent it made.

Needless to say, the locker immediately opened.

Grabbing my books with a grin, I whirled around and found myself face to face with a set of large, confused eyes. I immediately paled. The girl reached up just at my shoulders and was looking at me as though I had just sprouted two heads, eyes darting from my face to the locker and back.

Holy. Fucking. _Shit_. Did she see me? She couldn't have. I was _so _sure that there wasn't anyone around. My brain instantly went into an overdrive, remembering the time when Ethan accidentally revealed his powers to Mr. Carter. He had to go before the Tribunal, if I remembered correctly, and he very nearly was stripped of his position. But with most of the Tribunal dead, maybe the same wouldn't happen to me?

I realised I was jumping to conclusions. Okay, rationalize, Dillon. The girl still looked at me in shock, although she seemed to be gathering herself a little. Now's the time you say something. _Say something,_ Dillon. Preferably something smart and witty that completely throws her off and leads her to the fortunate conclusion that she really _couldn't _have seen you dent your locker with a tap of your index finger because, really, that was _impossible._

For the life of me, I couldn't think of anything to say. I believe I might have resembled a fish, opening and closing its mouth.

The girl took a step back, and then another, eyes flitting one last time to the locker.

Holy smoking sharks say _anything_ Dillon! _Anything!_

"Uh…Hi!" I managed to finally blurt. I winced. That was bad. She realised the same too, a small frown settling on her brow.

Eyes narrowing, the girl spun on her heel and walked away quickly before I could do anything. The second bell rang.

I cursed under my breath. What a royal mess! Matt was going to _annihilate _me. I had just possibly broken a cardinal rule of the Guard. It foremost and most revered tenet. A stone of dread sunk deep into my gut. This was _not_ going to end well.

Shaking my head and resisting the urge to hit something really, _really_ hard, I walked to Physics class. Act normal, that was the key. I couldn't let my emotions get the better of me.

My Physics teacher was a petite, pretty, middle-aged woman, wearing something extremely tight in all the right places, and I could just see the reason why most of the class was male and actually looked attentive.

"She's actually forty, you know?" said the girl who chose to sit beside me spitefully and I turned to find myself face to face with an attractive blonde with a toothpaste ad smile on her face.

A sign of my extremely frazzled emotional state – I had failed to notice the girl when she first sat here. Under ordinary circumstances I would have _more_ than attempted to befriend someone that good looking, but I simply smiled noncommittally, whirling my pencil with one hand, deep in thought.

"My name is Barbara." she persisted. "Barbara Walters."

"Dillon" I replied back with a lopsided smile.

"You're from Angel's High aren't you?" she asked charmingly, leaning towards me slightly.

"Yep" I replied easily, scratching down an important sounding formula into my legal pad. "Is it that easy to tell?"

She laughed. I had no idea what she found funny. I laughed along.

"A tip to the newbie. You should come to our pep rally today." She said brightly. "Its right after school. I'm on the cheer squad, so you'll probably see me there."

A cheerleader? Perfect. I turned to face her, smiling appreciatively.

Come on… a guy's got _hormones_. After the thrashing my romantic life, and not to mention ego, took after the Neriah debacle of last year, I wasn't really going to be turning down attractive blondes.

"Wouldn't miss it for the world. What are we… rallying for exactly?" I asked. Her smiled widened.

"Our basketball team. The Cavaliers. We're the best, I'll have you know!". Barbara twirled a lock of hair around a finger.

The King's High Cavaliers? Could they be any less corny? But hey, I wasn't going to reject what looked like an easy elevation up the school social ladder because of terrible clichés and slight vapidity. I threw Barbara a covert glance.

I was about to say something qhwn someone stormed into class, in a flurry of books and papers.

"Ms. Johnston that's the _third_ time you're late this week!" reprimanded Ms. Nessar in frustration and the girl flushed a bright red.

"I'm _so _sorry, Ms. Nessar. I didn't hear the lunch bell go off" she replied softly. I looked up then, eyes widening. It was _the_ girl. You know, the one who could potentially end my life at the Guard. My mood immediately dampened.

"That's the same thing you said yesterday." replied Ms. Nessar, hand on her hip. "_And_ the day before"

The girl just looked stubbornly at her feet, clutching her books almost protectively.

"Look Allison, you're an honours student and I _know_ that" said Ms. Nessar soothingly. "But lately that's been hard to see. You need to clean up your act or this year's going to be difficult for you."

The girl nodded and silently walked towards her seat at the other side of class. I made a mental note of her name, eyes following her almost subconsciously.

"Oh and you also have detention after class." called out Ms. Nessar, before returning to Thermodynamics. Barbara snickered next to me and I turned to her

"Who _is_ she?" I asked her softly, tilting my head in the general direction Allison Johnston.

"Allison Johnston?" laughed Barbara derisively, tossing her hair. "Why, she's just a frigid little bint. She's half Hawaiian or something and transferred in last semester from Sydney. Aced _all_ her classes, got the best student award… all that jazz. She thinks she's better than everyone else here. She was always annoying, but this year she even more weird. Hangs out in the library all the time. Pathetic."

I nodded, keeping an eye on Allison throughout class. She seemed decent enough, took notes at the speed of lightening, solved all the numericals within minutes. But Barbara was right, something was a little off. She seemed dazed and stiff, almost too controlled.

All the better for me though. I should _easily_ be able to convince her that what she thought she saw never happened. Now that I'd regained control of my tongue, that is. I frowned at my own lack of tact earlier that hour. The bell went off then, ringing loudly. There was a flurry of activity and the crowd started moving out in the hallways, rushing towards the pep rally. Allison just sat there, rubbing her temples in soft circles. I looked at her, intrigued.

"Come on Dil!" said Barbara enthusiastically, grabbing my hand. "Its time for the pep rally. Trust me, you are going to _love_ it. I'll introduce you to _all_ my friends so don't you worry, you won't be alone. They'll love you, I just _know_-"

"Thanks," I said hastily, extricating my arm from her grasp. "I'll just be a minute though. Just need to…uh…ask Ms. Nessar something."

Barbara pouted, but thankfully walked away with a smile and a wave. As she passed by Allison, she snorted condescendingly.

Feigning to be busy packing my books, I waited till she left and then walked over to Allison Johnston, feeling like I just _had_ to say something.

"Uh, so I just wanted to explain about...today", I started lamely. "I was just opening my locker…I dunno what you think you saw but, it was nothing." Okay that was _terrifically _terrible. Abysmal. Catastrophic. I resisted the urge to wince.

She cocked her head slightly, peering at me with intrigue through those slanted dark eyes.

"So, you're not just saying you _know_ what I _think_ I saw, but that you _think_ that what I _think_ I saw never actually happened?" she clarified calmly, fingers still on her temples. "You seem pretty concerned about my supposed hallucinations."

I opened my mouth to say something, but couldn't. _Damn._

Stupid stupid stupid Dillon! I decided to change tactics while she surveyed be with that same unreadable expression.

"Okay. So we got off to a bad start. I'm Dillon." I settled for, sticking my hand out and grinning slightly. I don't know why I did that. I don't know what I thought that would accomplish but at this point in time, _anything_ was worth a try!

"Yeah I know." she replied wearily, putting her books away and ignoring my outstretched hand. I raised a curious brow and she caught my expression, shrugging lightly. "I could hear Barbie there gushing from the other side of the room."

I winced.

"I'm Allison." she continued, putting her books into her bag and getting up to walk away.

I followed her into the now empty hallway and she suddenly stopped, turning to face me, arms crossed across her chest.

"Stop following me." She stated, dark eyes narrowing in annoyance.

"It's the hallway. We're both headed outside. Its hardly inconceivable that I use it." I rebutted, slightly chaffed and she rolled her eyes, walking again and slowing down till I was in step with her.

"For the record, what _exactly_ is it you think I thought I saw?" she asked me slyly and through her stony veneer, I saw a little intrigue.

I raised an eyebrow. Like _hell _I was going to tell her.

"What exactly is it you think I think you thought you saw?" I mimicked, crossing my arms.

There was a long silence, with her sizing me up. I could just see it. Even though she was at least half a foot shorter than me, slender and lean and probably light enough for me to benchpress without expending my superstrength at all, she exuded an aura of quiet defiance.

Neither of us was going to relent, I could tell, before she completely surprised me by dropping her arms.

"Forget it," she finally said, and suddenly, I saw an immense weariness in her, as thought she had not slept for days. What was just moments ago stubborn defiance was replaced with dull nonchalance, and I had to say I was taken aback. "See you around then Dillon." She paused, a slight smirk settling on her face. "Have fun at the pep rally, _Dil__._"

And with a slightl snicker she walked away. Despite myself, I grinned, running my hand through my hair.

* * *

**Dedicated to:**

**Holland. And whoever else was super dissapointed that they lost.**

**That was an _intense _game though.. **


	11. Potential Potentials

**Potential Potentials **

_**Happy Christmas! **_

_Neriah's POV_

We've fallen into a little routine of sorts, I've noticed, and it's almost nice. It brings some sense of normalcy, although nothing could ever really be _normal_ with us.

But I still hate that nagging feeling I get that we really aren't _accomplishing _what we're supposed to do. Arkarian tries not to let it show – and it Arkarian doesn't want someone knowing something, then they really _won't – _but if I were him, I'd be slightly disappointed that we haven't yet been able to locate the Potential. We're up against a clock, and as much as being in this bubble of schoolwork and prom dress is a nice change, time _is _running out.

I shook my head, dispelling those thoughts. It wasn't an _easy _task we had to accomplish by any means. Maybe I should cut us some slack.

Grabbing my lunch tray, I grinned at Matt from across the lunch hall and went over to him. In a moment, Ethan and Dillon joined us, arguing over something quite vociferously.

"I _swear_ that Miranda girl's seems fishy," insisted Ethan. "Just the other day, I _swear _she gave me the strangest look…"

"God, Ethan!" I retorted with a grin. "That's the fifth person you've _sworn _is a potential this week"

Matt chuckled and Ethan frowned as Isabel plopped down with Rochelle on the seat beside me.

"So Rochelle and I were going out for the track team," she announced, a frown set put between her brown eyes. "That is, of course, until I found out that we'd have co-ed practices and our captain is none other than - wait for it - bastard extraordinaire, Jared I'm-the-king-of-the-world-because-Daddy-can-afford-to-buy-me-a-Lambhorghini Stirling." She ended with a scowl, stabbing a piece of potato on her plate viciously.

"Isabel, we're still trying out for the track team" insisted Rochelle with a stubborn toss of her dark hair. "Bastard or no bastard, I think it'll be fun."

"Do you know what he did to me in Math today?" continued Isabel incredulously, eyes wide, completely ignoring Rochelle. "He pretty much called me a _plebeian oaf_! Can you _believe_ the gall?"

I laughed in between bites at her expression of pure horror.

"Isabel I'm sure he didn't call you a _plebeian_-" started Matt patiently.

"Well maybe in not so many words no, but he _did_ imply it." insisted Isabel, convinced, and Rochelle rolled her eyes, poking Isabel from under the table. Isabel frowned at her. "No really, I made this stupid, careless, _stupid_ mistake in math, I mean it was so trivial it shouldn't even be _counted_ as a mistake, and the look he gave me. I swear that smarmy little brat makes me want to…"

She trailed off there, probably envisaging a long list of ways to kill the poor thing. Ethan laughed, stifling it into a cough at Isabel's murderous expression.

We ate in comfortable silence, when Rochelle suddenly looked up right at me.

"What about the Potentials?" she broached seriously, eyes darting to the side to make sure nobody was listening.

"He's still out there," said Matt, stealing one of my fries with a winning wink. "I just _know_ it."

"But honestly, I don't see anyone who could possibly fill the shoes." said Rochelle, eyes slightly worried. "Are you sure he, or she, is even here? There could be a million other places... "

"I'm positive" I nodded and Rochelle sighed in frustration, fidgeting with her hands. "Like Matt said. I can just _feel _it."

Rochelle nodded, and I could see even her frustration building.

"Why is it this _hard _though?" she said through gritted teeth. "We need to find this person soon… Arkarian's counting on us!"

"Calm down Roh," said Dillon patiently, patting her back. "I'm sure we will…eventually."

"No, she's right," agreed Matt, with a thoughtful look on his face. "_Eventually_ is just not soon enough. We need to get to this person before Marduke does."

I could see tempers flaring.

"Look, worrying over this isn't going to help us," I said calmly, putting my fork down in finality. "We need a plan."

"No shit, Sherlock" muttered Ethan sarcastically, eyes sparking and I kicked him under the table. And missed.

"Neriah's right, let's think this through_ logically._" rationalized Isabel, and Matt and Ethan exchanged amused looks. "Our Potential can't possibly be able to completely hide his or her escalating powers – there have to be certain signs. What did each of us do when we first started coming into our powers?"

"Well I don't count", said Ethan, shrugging slightly, just a hint of pride in his voice. "I'd been anticipating mine for _years_. I knew exactly what was going to happen."

Rochelle rolled her eyes and kicked Ethan under the table. She _didn't _miss, and Ethan laughed warmly, swinging his arm around her waist.

"Show off" she muttered.

"Ah, you know you love me," replied Ethan arrogantly.

Dillon smacked his head down on the table. "_Seriously_, how long are we going to have to put up with this…this…" he looked at the rest of us, a pained expression on his face, waving his fork at the two of them. "this…_disgusting_ lovey-dovey-ness? When _exactly_ can I start hitting them over their heads for the public display of sappiness and _not _be given grief for it by you, Neriah?"

What? I wasn't giving him grief? Besides, Ethan and Rochelle were _cute? _

I frowned at him and he raised a sardonic brow in response, putting his hands on his hips and mimicking me rather _terribly, _if I may say so.

"_Seriously _Dillon", his voice was painfullyhigh pitched, and he had adopted a matronly expression that looked _nothing _like me. "Ethan thought she was _dead, _for Heaven's sakes. And he _rescued her, _and _brought her_ back_. _From the _dead! _They're _destined_ to be together! It's so _romantic!_ Just let them _be!"_

Okay, I _don't _emphasize my words so much. Or sound so exclamatory. The prat!

"Moving on…" Isabel interrupted, with a disapproving look. "When I first got into my healing skills, I didn't really have any time to mull over it." She frowned in reminiscence. "In fact, I thought I had hallucinated cutting my finger. Luckily, Ethan revealed his powers to me that very same day so I'm a bad source of information on this. Who else?"

"I always knew about what was to come too" I chipped in nonchalantly. "I mean, with Da- Marduke being who he was, Mum had pretty much told me enough for it not to come as a huge surprise."

I pretended I hadn't slipped up there, a stony expression on my face. It would always feel weird calling _him_ by his real name, but it was bloody time I accepted things the way they were. Marduke had stopped being Dad a long time ago.

Playing with the edge of my bad, I smiled as Matt grabbed my hand under the table and I squeezed it. Thank God for him.

"I'm out too," he continued. "Everybody knows that my powers had to practically be _beaten_ out of me."

"One of Lathenia's soldiers… Boris his name was, showed up two days after I came into my abilities," said Dillon with a blasé shrug. "I didn't really believe I had _powers,_ per say. I just thought all that football was really paying off. It was only after he made me break through a wall of concrete that I even believed him."

Everyone laughed. I patted the top of his head in mock patronization and he grinned and pushed it away.

That left Rochelle. Everyone looked at her expectantly. She had an odd expression on her face.

"Marduke found me six weeks after I came into my abilities," she said softly.

I gasped. "_That long_? It can really take _that long_ to-"

"Not usually." she shrugged, and I could see her forehead crease at whatever memory was flitting through her head. "I was told it happens sooner, but he probably had a hard time finding me. My dad had been having a really… violent time, and we had been moving around a lot."

"So you're our best guide. How was that whole phase?" asked Matt, ignoring Ethan's grimace.

"Terrible." said Rochelle honestly, green eyes thoughtful. "Both my abilities developed at the same time. My hands… that would have pretty cool, but I was going through a really tough time so I didn't need any added trouble. I would touch my locker and the world would swim and all I would feel were metals and alloys and their concentrations. It, _honestly_, freaked me the shit out."

We were all listening to her intently, and she stared down at her tray.

"But the truthseeing… that was the worst." she continued. "I could hear _everything_ people were saying. I couldn't control it or tune it out. I would these constant headaches and I would feel nauseous and claustrophobic all the time. I could sleep or do _anything_, let alone be around people. School became this giant ordeal. I would spend all my time in some deserted corridor or the library listening to my music, trying to drown the world out. Home was even more terrifying. I could hear _everything_ my father wanted to do me before he actually did it. I could hear all his _ghastly_ thoughts. It was terrifying."

She stopped then and looked up at us all. I felt positively sick and Ethan had a pained look on his face as he simply her hand, actions saying everything his words could not. Dillon looked pensive, almost nervous. Balling and unballing his fists, he scanned the lunch hall, brow furrowed. Odd.

But Rochelle seemed fine, thankfully.

"All in the past" she said with a wry smile. "What I'm trying to say is that these are the signs of our potential. They'll be confused and will be acting out of ordinary. They'll probably be avoiding people, and might even be... frightened?"

Dillon seemed to be hanging on to her every word. Something was evidently, evidently, on his mind.

"What is it Dillon?" asked Matt curiously, glancing at me for a moment.

Dillon looked all around again, before his gaze settled back at us.

"I'm not sure…I dunno…I mean..." he started hesitantly, before collecting his thoughts and continuing, voice stronger. "I think I know who our Potential is."

* * *

**Next chapter up soon! **

**Dedicated to: Guepe. And being in the same continent after a year! 3 **

**Till next time. **


End file.
